Path to Forgiving
by Refia
Summary: COMPLETED! Ritz feels ashamed of her actions after the battle at Sienna Gorge. But earning Marche's forgiveness is harder than she expected as he becomes increasingly violent and old foes of him show up in Ivalice. And why is it that Ivalice still exists?
1. Chapter 1: Over the Hill

**Path to Forgiving  
**  
Here's the first chapter, it's a bit long. if it is too long, don't worry, next chapters will be shorter.

**1. Over the Hill**

Marche clenched his jaw and looked straight forward. The cold wind of the Sienna Gorge blew in his face. It was painful. But something was even more painful. He looked up. Not far from the bridge far above him, the bridge over the river. Ritz. With her clan.

"Ritz…" Marche sighed silently.

The girl immediately shook her head and glared at him. "I have no desire at all, to discuss this matter with you, Marche." Her hand grabbed the handle of her Femme Fatale. Marche had heard about her rapier. It was… The strongest in Ivalice. Legendary, some would call it. It was strange Ritz was able to wield it. But then again, Marche was not surprised. She was a strong fighter. A strong clan leader. He had seen her in combat. The look in Marche's eyes changed. From sadness, to anger. Yes, that was it, anger. Anger and… hate. He breathed heavily.

"I just can't let you go any further Marche…" Ritz sighed. "I won't allow you to destroy my dream."

"Yes!" Marche sneered. "You speak the truth. A dream. Your dream to be like you are now… Pathetic weakling."

"What did you call me?" She stood straighter. With the sun shining from behind her, she looked quite fearsome. With a fast move she drew her Femme Fatale. Besides Ritz, Shara, her bow ready. "I'm sorry Marche. But I'll stop you! And if it means fighting you, I won't back down at all."

Marche nodded. A sinister smile decorated his face all of the sudden. "Those are my thoughts exactly, Ritz." He looked up and looked straight in her eyes. He sent her all his anger, all his hate. She quickly looked away. "I must see Mewt, and that means I'm going through this valley. Clan Ritz or no Clan Ritz."

He grabbed his Long Sword. Ritz laughed. "I heard about you, Marche. You're clan is doing well. But every time we met, you were the weakest of your group. Don't take me for a fool. Just turn back now, I want to avoid a battle if that's possible."

"Maybe I'm weak." Marche replied. "But I don't care. You've gone too far this time, Ritz. You want to fight me? Then bring it on. I'll show you who the weakling is!"

The red-haired girl shrugged and threw of her cloak. Marche wasn't impressed with her battle outfit. The armours, belts and gloves she wore were the finest material. They certainly weren't cheap.

"Why does he stay so calm?" Ritz wondered. "I've been asking around all over Ivalice to get an idea of his power. And every time I was judged stronger than him. So why is he so… relaxed?"

"You alright, Ritz?" Shara gave her a worried look. Ritz nodded and even managed to smile. "It's nothing. Maybe I'm a bit nervous, but I'll be alright."

"Ritz… You don't have to-"

"I'll see this through!" She snapped. Without waiting for Shara to continue speaking, she pointed her rapier at Marche. "Let's do it, clan!"

Marche threw of his own travel cloak. His steel armour reflected the sun. It was nicely polished. "Montblanc…" He turned to his Black Mage, Moogle friend. "You lead the clan…I'll be dealing with Ritz alone."

"Will you be okay, kupo? I mean… In your head, kupo."

"She went too far…" The hatred in his eyes grew worse. "She went too far!"

"Alright, kupo. But don't over do it, Marche."

He nodded and thanked the moogle. Then he ran up quickly, jumping higher than he was able to in the real world. He landed steadily on his feet on a flat piece of the hill. Ritz was already there. She stood ready to attack. Marche raised his sword.

And charged.

Ritz was prepared for it. She was a veteran of many battles. She would not loose. It pained her that her opponent was Marche, but he was going to destroy her, the her she wanted to be. He was going to take away everything she liked. The weapons clashed with loud clangs. Marche let out a fierce number of strikes, each one paraded by a swift Ritz.

"You said from the beginning you did not want our world back." Marche cried, striking with all his might, she jumped up to avoid his swipe. "But you knew it just had to come back, didn't you?"

She landed again and now she let out swift strikes with her deadly rapier. "Maybe I did." She smiled. "That's part of this game's fun, really, getting to the end. But I don't want this game to end just yet. I don't have to take it to stand by and watch you end this game!" She drove him backwards. His back touched the rocks of the mountain. "That's why I decided that at least I would do everything to stop you. Even if the world gets changed back, no matter what!" She looked him in the eye and whispered. "I'm sure you can understand that."

"I don't!" he growled. "All I understand now is that I want you out of my way. That you are my enemy. That I hate my enemies, and thus, you!" In a desperate move to get out of his stuck position, he charged forward. She stepped aside and kicked his legs, making him fall. Marche tasted dust.

"I see… So you really don't care about me, Mewt, or Doned?" She slashed his sword away and laid the point of her Femme Fatale on his chest. Marche shot her a fierce glance.

"What about you three huh? Don't you really care about how I feel? Is that not important, too? Or do I just have to be the only one feeling something is missing, while you are perfectly happy? Why do I need to suffer because of you three?" She was silent for a while, then replied. "One person. Is your happiness more important than the happiness of three persons? You want to sacrifice three happy friends for your own happiness, I didn't think you were THAT selfish."

"I'm not. I'm not selfish. You are not happy Ritz. Here, you are being a weakling! A pathetic weakling!" Those last words were spit out with blind and boiling rage.

"You said that before…" she bowed her head "But I'm not weak at all! How can you even say that?"

"I'm not weak!" Marche hissed "I am willing to face the truth, willing to go back and step up to my problems I have there." He looked sideways, down the hill, where his clan was engaged with Ritz's. "But you, Ritz. And Mewt. You just want to stay here. And I would not mind that, if you weren't running away like all weaklings do. In our world, in St. Ivalice, I saw you as a strong minded person, one that has problems of her own, but can face them. But I was wrong." She listened, didn't interrupt him. "You did not dare to face your problem there. You just ran away from it, by coming here. Here, you don't have to face that problem of your white hair. Because here, you were able to run fast enough to escape that problem, not solve it!"

"My hair is red here. It's naturally red. Marche, I did not run from my problem, because here there is no such problem!"

"And thus you ran away from it. You want to stop me so badly, be cause you are such a coward! You are afraid to go back because you don't dare to face your problem!" Marche replied.

"That's not true at all!"

"Then why don't you allow me to go further? Why don't you let me change the world back, if you are not afraid of our world?"

"Because I'm more happy here!" Ritz stated. For a moment Marche thought a tear was blinking in the corner of her eye. A tear of despair. She was confused. "You don't know what you're taking from me when you change everything! Why Marche? Why go back? Here, I'm not picked on, nobody picks on you, nobody picks on Mewt! Isn't this better?"

"No." Marche sighed. "Not it is not. Because our problems are still not solved. Life is standing up to your problems and solving them. That's what I learned here. When I go back, I won't allow Lyle and his bunch to pick on me anymore, I'll just make them eat snow if I have to. But I won't run away from the problem anymore."

His red haired opponent did a step back. Was she crying? She stared at the ground. "Then you leave me no choice, Marche. I wasn't able to talk you out of it. Now I'll just have to KO you and win this battle. And I'll keep doing it whenever you try to cross this valley."

Ritz firmly took her Femme Fatale and jumped high in the air, preparing her Finishing Move.

The light of the sun made the Femme Fatale emit a blood red glow. The energy of the sun was what she needed for the Finishing Move. When the energy was gathered, she raised the blade and then crushed down towards Marche. Marche had staggered up. He looked up at Ritz and raised his hands to stop her. But he was unarmed. No way he would be able to stop Ritz's Finishing Move. When she was only a few metres away from him, she threw her Femme Fatale and hung still in the air, watching it approach her friend. She waited for her rapier to crash in the ground, where it would let out all the power it had gained from the sun, sending it in a gigantic stream of energy upwards. None had ever survived Ritz Finishing Move. She had fought long and hard to be able to learn it. But it had been worth it. The Finishing Move, one of Ivalice hidden S-skills. It was the S-skill of the Fencer class. It had saddened Ritz a bit that to use it, she had to back to her starting class, but it had been worth it. And she had combined her Fencer skills with her Illusionist skills. She remembered how Shara had commented on the sheer power of the Finishinh Move when she had used it for the first time. She had to rest five days before she was recovered from using her S-skill. But slowly, she got better at using it and now she had mastered it.

Marche felt the blade flying straight past his outstretched hands. He had only time to look down at the ground in which the Femme Fatal had struck, before the energy of the sun started to gush out and the raise upwards into a pillar of light. Ritz dropped softly on the ground and waited until all energy had left her blade. And when all energy had rose to heavens, she would see Marche, KO'd and she would win the engagement. It saddened her, really. Why did it have to go this way. "All this time, I had hoped that we never would have to meet like this…" She whispered.

"Really?" Marche asked. "In my case, I was kind of looking forward to it." Ritz looked up and her eyes grew wide. There was no way, no way at all! At first she only saw a black figure in the streaming energy, but then he stepped out of it. But he was different…?

His silver coloured armours reflected the sunlight so bright that Ritz had to shield her eyes. What had happened to his steel armour? How did it change to something this… impressive?

The armour he wore over his chest and back seemed thick and heavy. It was decorated with lines that formed a pattern, like they were painting ribs on the armour. His shoulder, elbows and wrist were protected by silver coloured metal just as well, as where his knees and shins. The tips of his now black boots were strengthened with the shining metal as well. Under all this he now wore black clothes. But what truly was terrifying was his sword.

It was just gigantic. It was strange that he could wield it with just one hand, and he did not seem to have any problems doing so at all. It was richly decorated at the handle, and it looked very ancient yet so powerful.

"Where did you-" she stammered.

"Get this all?" He finished for her. He smiled broadly. "Just like you, Ritz, I went to search for one of the legendary S-skills. For me it was the S-skill of the Solider class. A bit hard for me to part from being a Paladin, but then again, I could combine my Soldier and Paladin skills so I was not that worried." He paused for a moment and studied his blade. "I just wanted that S-skill, to prove you that I'm also a great fighter. But I stumbled upon my nightmare. Ultimate Weapon."

Ritz gasped for breath. Her face turned pale. "You mean the Weapons exist here, too?"

Marche nodded sadly, like it pained him to talk about it. "Ultimate Weapon guarded the ultimate skill of the Soldier class: Finishing Touch. I wanted that skill, I wanted to show it to you so you would be impressed."

"But why would you want to impress me? You could have been killed by Weapon!"

"Because whenever I meet you" he cried "You always seem to humiliate me! You always were stronger than me when we met. Nothing wrong with it, I admired it, until I learned you secretly went all over Ivalice to get information about my strength, just so you could become better! And then you got the S-skill… I couldn't stand it anymore, Ritz! Ever since the Golden Clocks my desire to show you your place, to be somebody and to become stronger than you was all that kept me up, after you crushed my feelings!"

She gave him a not-understanding look. "What did I do, then?" she quietly asked. Afraid to hear the answer.

"I'm sure you'll be able to figure out that one yourself." Marche replied. "All that was left in me then was my desire. And it was that desire that helped me through my battle with Ultimate Weapon, it was that desire that allowed me to overcome death. The desire to defeat you, Ritz!"

He ran towards her with his new blade and powers ready. Ritz jumped over him and grabbed her Femme Fatale. Now she was worried. He turned around with lightning speed and charged at her again. She ducked to avoid his slash and kicked at his legs. He did a back flip to avoid that and so she got the time to get up again. Just in time to raise her rapier to block his next attack. His blade was great and heavy, it was difficult to block such power with her long, yet thin rapier. Her Femme Fatale would not break, she was sure of that. But she, herself, could break. Marche doubled his attacking speed, every strike coming faster and more difficult for her to handle. It could not be. There was no way that his power could have grown so much just because he had a different weapon and battle outfit!

He struck her hard and forced her back. Her back touched the side of the mountain. She gulped and sprang away just as his blade cleaved trough the rocks. He pulled his blade back out and looked around for his opponent. Nowhere to be seen. He did a back flip and landed three metres higher on a small edge. She landed suddenly in front of him and he almost fell, but he quickly recovered and hacked away. The side of the mountain became full of scratches and deep cuts as the two continued their fight, Ritz desperately trying to avoid his sword and Marche continuously attacking. Sometimes he held his weapon with two hands, sometimes with only one. He jumped after Ritz who just had reached a higher ridge then him. He wasn't planning to land on it, he was just going to cut that ridge in half. She noticed what he was planning to do. "Nighthawk!" The fencer skill knocked Marche back and he fell. Marche stuck his blade in the side of the mountain to stop himself from falling. Then he pushed himself upwards again. He passed Ritz and while he did that he cut the ridge she was standing on in two pieces. Screaming she fell and her rapier was not strong enough to do the same tricks Marche had done while he was falling. Painfully she crashed down at the feet of the mountain, not far from the bridge where she had awaited Marche. She tried to get up but was stopped when he suddenly dropped down next to her and put his feet on her chest.

"My skills have far surpassed your, Ritz, long, long ago. Thanks to my desire. And thus I will now end the battle." He raised his sword to KO her, but in a last desperate attempt not to get KO'd by her friend, she grabbed his leg and pulled it, making him fall. She stood up quickly and tried to reach her Femme Fatale, which she had lost during her fall. Just as she wanted to grab it he appeared in front of her.

"Finishing Touch." He whispered softly. Then he gently touched her forehead with the tip of his blade. A strong blow of invisible energy suddenly came and blew her away. Or was it a sudden wind that did that? She would never know. When the energy, or whatever it was, had blown her back, it had such a hard impact on her chest that she felt like being crushed. A small stream of blood appeared in the corner of her mouth . Ritz fell of the edge of the cliff and her fall finally stopped when she hit the river with a sickening crash. Something heavy suddenly was removed from Marche's heart and he walked to the edge of the cliff, relaxed. He looked down to see the result of his final assault. Shara already dragged an unconscious Ritz out of the river. Marche looked at the Judge, who raised his hand.

"KO verified, clan leader is defeated. This engagement is over and victory goes to Clan Marche." Then he promptly disappeared and the fight had ended. Marche sighed deeply and put his sword on his back.

After he checked himself for not existing injuries. He turned his attention back to the people below. None of his clan were KO'd, only a few with some major injuries. Ever since his struggle with Ultimate Weapon, Marche had insisted that his clan members would train and learn their skills twice as hard as before, including himself.

"If we ever face something like Weapon again, we have to be prepared, guys." Was his explanation. None really complained. It was for the best of the clan, after all.

"Montblanc, gather the clan. Let's go on to Ambervale."

"Kupo! We'll be right there, Marche." The moogle boy put away his staff and climbed up the hill towards the bridge over the river, followed by the other members of Clan Marche.

"Was everything okay?" Marche asked. He smiled innocently. "I just was a bit to busy to watch how things were going with you guys."

"Kupo, things went all kupo, Marche." Montblanc said with a wink. "I think you forcing us to practice twice as hard did pay of, kupo."

"Well, didn't I say it was in the best intentions for the clan?" Marche laughed. Then he turned around and prepared to cross the bridge. He noticed the others were hesitating a bit.

"Hey come on, we can't keep the Judgemaster waiting forever."

"Marche…" Seth, the White Monk Bangaa, shook his head slightly. "Are you sssure that you aren't forgetting sssomething?"

"Like what?" he asked with a confused look. He looked at Seth, who did not answer. Montblanc did not, either. Nobody of his clan did. They all just avoided his gaze. Then it hit him. "Oh, her." Then he simply turned around again and crossed the bridge. Montblanc soon followed, Seth heard him say something like "Hopeless.", but so silent Marche could not hear it. Without looking back, they crossed the bridge and silently continued the path out of Sienna Gorge.

---  
To see Marche Ultima Weapon, copy and paste this link:  
http/www.kolumbus.fi/deng.suiguang/Kuvat/weaponit/cloudultima.jpg  
As you can see, it's based on Cloud's Ultima Weapon from FF VII. I just liked the design.

I hope this first chapter was enjoyable.


	2. Chapter 2: Regret

**2. Regret**

Shara tilled Ritz head a bit better so she could breath better. The defeated fencer groaned softly. Her fellow clan members had surrounded them, worried. She could feel the pain with every move she did. But what was worse, far, far worse, was the pain in her heart. The pain in her heart, caused by the truth. She opened her eyes. At least, that movement did not hurt her.

"Ritz, are you okay?" Shara, unsure.

Ritz shook her head slowly. Tears ran down her cheeks. Now she fully realized what she had done, what had happened.

"Shara… What have I done?" she cried. She felt powerless. The memories of the battle were painful. But the memories of Marche, in that battle, were even more. She had seen it. In his eyes, she had seen it. Hate. He hated her. "What IS he?" Her voice trembled as she remember the power his soul and his body gave off. It was ancient, and powerful.

"I don't know" The Viera answered. "Or maybe I do, but I don't believe myself."

"Tell me."

"No. I don't dare to. What I saw today was terrifying. And you need to rest, anyway." Shara answered, with a small hint of fear. Then the Sniper turned to the Assasin next to her.

"Help me carry her, Elena."

Ritz really wanted to know what Shara was talking about, but she decided to be quiet and cooperate. It was true that she needed rest, anyway.

A day or two passed. The clan had retreated to Muscadet, were Ritz would be able to recover, both in mind as well as body. Shara had paid for the finest room in the Inn. The first day, Ritz slept. The whole time. Maybe it was because of the draught Shara had forced her to swallow. Maybe it was because she was just that: exhausted and tired. On the second day, Ritz was awake now and then, but she didn't say a word. She couldn't bring out anything meaningful, anyway. Something inside her was broken. Was it her heart? Her spirit? She did not know.

On the third day, she spoke with Shara. She wanted answers.

"Marche must have reached Ambervale by now, if he isn't there already." She commented.

Shara nodded. "I guess so. So how are you feeling now, Ritz?"

"My body is alright, I guess." The girl sighed. "But my mind needs answers." She looked at Shara. "What IS he, Shara? What class did Marche posses? I never saw something like that before, or felt a power like that."

Shara bowed her head. Her skin was paler than usual. "I didn't want to believe it, and I still don't, actually." She searched for the right, calm words. "Myths and fairytales of the Humans speak of long ago, when Ivalice was still lawless, back in the days of the very first King. The time no judges existed yet. There was something else that enforced the law."

"What?"

"A special Human Class. Very special, said to posses a wide array of the legendary S-skills: Ultima Knights."

"Ultima!" Ritz gasped. Things became more clear for her now. Shara paid no attention to her cry and continued her story. "When the laws were invented, the Ultima Knight class became a rarity. And soon, the class was forgotten. It is the strongest human class, or so they say. The last Ultima Knights decided that the class still had to exist, but that only the bravest and worthiest of all hearts would be able to obtain and use it. So they created Weapon. Ultimate Weapon. A creature armoured fully with a metal that is believed to be a mix of Genji Metal and the rare Amber. That means, nearly indestructible."

"And you think Marche is an Ultima Knight?" Ritz didn't really want to know the answer, but she knew it already, so…

"Yes, but no. It's a myth, Ritz. Ultima Knights only existed when Ivalice was becoming a Kingdom. There is no such thing as Weapon."

"There is." Ritz interrupted. "Marche told me he fought Weapon. Ultimate Weapon. He did not tell anything special, only that he fought Weapon to obtain the human S-Skill. But somehow, he must have obtained this class as well…"

"Is there any prove to his words?" Shara sneered. Ritz shook her head, and stared in front of her. "Marche barely lies. And the weapon he had, the armours… It emitted a strange power. Like Amber does…" Ritz turned to her Viera friend. "Even if you don't want to believe it, I think Marche unknowingly obtained the power of the Ultima Knight."

She hung her head, as something else struck her. "That means I can say goodbye to this world. Nothing will be able to withstand his newfound power. And I can tell about that. He survived my S-Skill and he literally blew me away with his…"

She couldn't take it anymore. Ritz turned around and buried her head in her pillow, crying. Tears flowed from her cheeks in the pillow. She could feel Shara touching her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Trying to make her feel at ease.

"Marche…" She thought "Please, Marche, forgive me… Please…"

---  
Well, there's the second chapter. I hope for some more reviews. Anyway, if you're reading this, enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3: Fate

**3. Fate**

Marche put his sword on his back. Not even a minute ago, he had seen how the Li-Grim had floated up in the sky, before shattering into a million particles of light. Then Mewt had disappeared. But the fight was over. His long struggle, at an end. The days of Ivalice would be over soon. He turned around to smile at his clan, his friends. But as he turned around, he saw he was in a different place, no longer in Ambervale. Somewhere… Stars surrounded him. Standing on an invisible floor in something that looked like outer space, only without it's planets. Nothing but stars, as far as he could see.

"Where am I?"

"You are were you came through before. Though you can't remember, you were asleep then." A calming voice answered warmly. Marche turned around yet again, and this time, he saw somebody. It was a boy, no, a young man, maybe a bit older tan himself. He wore a black cloak over his body and his face was hooded. Marche could only see his chin and his mouth.

Uncertain, he readied his sword.

"Oh, you don't need to fear me, Marche." The man smiled. "So you defeated the Li-Grim, the psychical manifestation of the Book your friend has?" Marche nodded. "And now… You want to go home."

"Who are you? How do you know these things?"

"I'm Fate. That's my name. And that's what I am. I watch how the fate of everybody develops, aiding if needed. I aided the faith of you and your friends a bit when he found the book."

"You mean you helped Mewt to change the world?" Marche raised his sword. "And are you now going to stop me from doing what I fought for so long!"

Fate waved his hands calmingly. "One, I did not help Mewt to go to Ivalice, the Book did. Second, I'm not going to stop you from deciding your own fate and thirdly, what are talking about, 'changing the world'?"

Now it was Marche turn to be confused. Uncertainty crept in his mind. This person obviously knew more than he did. "The World. I mean, Mewt changed St. Ivalice into Ivalice with the help of that Book, right?"

Fate shook his head. "No. Where did you get this from? Or did you think that's what happened when you woke up in Ivalice?"

When Marche nodded, the young man bowed his head and sighed. "You're so misguided."

Fate took Marche arm and dragged him along to a huge glasslike wall. It was a mirror, or something alike. "Look." Fate said, pushing Marche in front of the Mirror.

Marche looked, and saw himself, and not. The reflection staring back at him was him, yes, but not the him he was now. It was the him in St. Ivalice. Marche laid his hand on the mirror, the reflection did the same.

"What is this!" He shouted, turning to Fate.

"This is the prove of the true theory." Fate shrugged. "Ivalice and St. Ivalice are not the same. Not fully, that is. They are connected to each other. They are worlds who's path walk parallel to each other. When Mewt wished for a place where he could be different, where his wishes could be granted, the book granted his wish by taking him to Ivalice. Mewt maybe thought the same as you did, that he had changed St. Ivalice in Ivalice. And the book changed the fate of Ivalice to let it look like that, to grant Mewt's wishes. This progress can't be undone. The Fate of Ivalice has now changed. People will always remember Prince Mewt and Queen Remedi. No matter Mewt is there, or not."

"What does that mean… Does that mean that, St. Ivalice was continuing it's life all the time, while we were in Ivalice?" Marche stared at Fate, who nodded. "Then what happened to the me in St. Ivalice…" Marche started to realize something. The truth. The horrible truth. Marche tried to stop Fate from saying it, but he was too late.

"When the book changed Ivalice's Fate, it had to change St. Ivalice's fate as well, otherwise, things wouldn't be right." Fate paused for a moment, then continued slowly. "Marche Radiuju, you and your friends never existed in St. Ivalice."

---  
A painful discovery for Marche... I wodner how I would react on such a discovery... Probably on the same way he is going to react... This is my way to let them stay in Ivalice. Otherwise, no fun writing.  
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4: The Inner Pain

**4. The Inside Pain**

Marche staggered backwards. He held his breath, couldn't speak, his vision was blurry. He didn't hear anything except for the echo of Fate's words.

_"You never existed in St. Ivalice…"_

It couldn't be true! It just couldn't be! He found his voice again. "No…" He stammered, he breathed heavily. "Just no!" His gaze pierced through Fate and with a voice full of boiling rage Marche demanded to know.

"Then why? What have I fought for? Wasn't this all pointless than! Fighting Ritz, fighting Mewt, all these battles, knowing I was going to make my friends unhappy. My own inner pain, growing! AND ALL FOR WHAT!" He gasped for breath. "For the knowledge that that what I fought for, does not exist for me!"

"It was for something." Fate calmly said "You opened your friends eyes to the truth, and he won't hide his fears and pains anymore. He'll grow up now, thanks to you. That's something to fight for, no? Helping your friends."

Almost dying from all that anger and rage inside him, Marche grabbed his sword and swung it at Fate, who didn't stir. Marche breathed heavily, his eyes having the look of a starving animal. "Mewt nor Ritz are my friends."

"Fine, have it your way." Fate's tone seemed to change. "Go take out your frustration and anger then. Grieve and despair, engulf yourself in your own bitterness and rage. Create a beast beyond imagination! Let's see how long you will last like that."

And then Marche was back in reality, in Ambervale. He felt his clan staring at him. He couldn't bear it and walked off.

"Marche! Kupo, wait!" Montblanc cried, in an attempt to stop Marche from going away, but to no avail. The moogle didn't understand it anymore, nobody seemed to understand it.

"Maybe we should just leave him to his thoughts for a while." Judgemaster Cid commented. "It seems like something went quite wrong after the Gran Grimoire was defeated. Because the world is still here, and Marche seems furious."

It was true. Very true. Marche couldn't think clearly. His mind was clouded by blind rage. He saw trees along the path. He drew his sword and cut them in half, he just had to destroy them. He saw rocks, he saw other trees. He would have to destroy them all, it would help him to calm down, to let his rage out. He couldn't stop. Everything he saw, it had to go down, it had to be torn to shreds, cut to pieces. And he could not stop, it was like some animalistic instinct prevented him from thinking clearly, from acting humanlike. "Destroy" his mind said "Take out your anger on those unloving things. They can't feel pain. They don't feel your pain."

In Ambervale, people were discussing what could have happened, Mewt had returned from out of nowhere, carrying the book, but it seemed lifeless, without any power at all. The Prince of Ivalice stared at the book.

"It has no power anymore." He concluded. "It's powerless. Just an ordinary book. The world can't change because there's no power to do so."

Cid bowed his head. "So that must be why…" Mewt nodded in agreement. Montblanc had fallen silent. Everybody followed his example. What to do now? What could they do?

"We have to find a way to console Marche, to calm him down." Babus said, breaking the silence. "Or else there will be nothing left of Ambervale soon."

"Good luck trying to stop an Ultima Knight, tough."

The members of the Palace stared at Montblanc, but Clan Marche did not, they knew the secret of their leader. And Montblanc most of all. He had stood by watching Marche's struggle with Weapon. He had seen his pain. During all their hardships, Montblanc had come to understand Marche better and better. He knew what was going on inside his friend at the moment. He could imagine how… desperate and depressed Marche must be at the moment. Yet, none of them knew at the moment that there was more to it than just not going home. And this was just the beginning. Fate had spoken a warning only Marche had heard, but at this moment, Marche ignored the warning and thus, what he was warned for already started…

---  
The danger has just started... It must be hard when you make such a discovery... But what to do about it?  
The walk on the Path to Forgiving will begin in the next chapter. I hope you guys are still enjoying it.


	5. Chapter 5: Never look back

Next chapter. Sorry it took me so long.

**5. Never look back**

Marche sighed deeply, finally stopping his blind rage. He had enough of it. He could finally think clearly again.

"So I can't go back to a place, because I didn't exist in that place." He muttered, putting his Ultima Weapon on his back. "In a way, that is not bad. Mewt came back to his senses, so this world isn't dangerous for him anymore. And I won't have to abandon my friends here." He thought some more and suddenly his face twisted into a grieving and hateful expression. "And that bastard of a whitey locks will keep her blasted red hair!"

He kicked the remains of a tree as far as possible. Then he hung his head. "Alright, I owe them an explanation."

With pain in his chest, he walked towards the others. His inner self grieved over the truth he had just found and Marche wished, he had listened to Whitey locks, Babus, and all those others that had begged him to let the world stay as it was.

And so Marche began to talk. He told everything to his clan, Mewt, Judgemaster Cid, Babus. To all of them. His voice trembled, his chest hurt. His throat was raw and felt painful. He grieved inside, over that so painful truth, over all those things he wouldn't have gone through if he had listened to the others for once, if he had for once given in to his own, deep desires. "And that's the whole story." He finished. "We can't go back because we never existed there. In theory, we were born and raised here, even though our memory says otherwise. It's not true. What we remember is the illusion, what we see is the truth." A deep, grieving sigh escaped his lips. He turned to Mewt and made a knee bend for him. "I'm sorry Mewt. I was wrong. If I hadn't been so selfish, you would still have your mom and be happy. I ruined it. Forgive me, prince Mewt."  
"Don't say that!" Mewt cried "Get up Marche for crying out loud! I was wrong! I was the fool! I was the weakling! I hid, you didn't. I am the one who ruined it for all of us! By using that stupid book!" The boy looked nervous. "When the world changed, I thought I had done good for all. That I made it perfect for all my friends, my family and myself. But I acted on what I thought, not on what you wanted! I changed our destiny without asking you guys. That was selfish of me… I'm so sorry Marche…"  
Marche got up and shook his head. "I think we're both guilty Mewt. You really wanted to do good! So did I. I wanted to make you realize that running isn't the option. And both of us did it the wrong way…"  
"So what will we do then?"

"What else can we do than stay and make the best of it?" Marche looked up to the sky, the pain in his chest lessened. "Maybe it's not so bad at all. I still have the clan, my friends. You still have your dad, you're the prince and you've people around you who take care of you. What more could we want?"

"You wanted home, Marche." Mewt whispered.

"But like Fate said, we didn't exist or have a home there, Mewt. Our home's here. And it always has been. I know we remember, but in theory those memories are fake. Good for some interesting books I would say, but no reality anymore."

"I'm glad you take it like that."

"It will take time for me to get over it… That's for sure. But I have no choice. It's a fact, I have to move on. And my fights haven't been for nothing. We've found out what true friendship is, Mewt." Marche managed to for a small smile.

"Yeah…"

Marche extended his hand towards the Prince of Ivalice. "What do you say? Friends again?" Mewt didn't think twice and clasped his hand in Marche's. "No doubt in my mind, friend!" Mewt laughed "Friends!"

And so the battle between Clan Marche and the Palace was ended in friendship. People would remember the hard days during the still war, but the wounds would heal. Mewt went back to the Palace, this time taking the role of a Prince seriously and not like a boy who makes everybody do as he pleased. He took responsibility. Judgemaster Cid remained with his decision and the judges remained independent from the Palace, but he had went back to live in the Palace and aid his son. Of course, when his dad wasn't there, Mewt still had Babus, and the memory of his mother, to keep him company. The tight laws were loosened. People could breath again. It seemed like a period of long happiness had begun for Ivalice.

If only it were true… Marche went back with his clans, his mind burdened with grieving thoughts. Yet there was a point of light as well. He had friends. He and Mewt were friends again. Yet he felt like something was wrong. Inside himself. His feelings. He tried not to think about them and tried to resume his life as a clan leader. After his first mission they had taken after the battle at Ambervale, Marche had fun again with his clan, for the first time since months. When the fight was done, they heard him laugh. Just a happy laugh, of somebody who's content. He had fallen on his back in the grass, staring at the sky, laughing. Maybe life wasn't so bad at all? Yet the feeling that something was missing remained.

Marche and some clan members, including Montblanc, came back in town after they had been on a mission for three days. Two or three weeks had passed since Ambervale. Marche had begun to relax a bit more. Montblanc and the others did everything to make it all as fun as possible.

"Man!" Marche said "I'm so tired. Resting in a bed for once will be good, instead of some blankets around the campfire."

"If we still can find some place in the inn, kupo." Montblanc reminded him.

"We'll just make some room if there isn't any!" The Ultima Knight said with a broad grin.

"And then you'll go to jail, kupo."

"Nah! I'm a friend of the Prince of Ivalice!" Marche cheered "They won't arrest me."

Seth couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah right. Even the prince knowss the law, Marche. Friend or not, to jail you would go."

"Who cares? A bed in the inn or in jail, as long as I can sleep on it I'm fine with it."

"I sstill prefer laying grasss over a bed in jail…" Seth muttered. Montblanc managed to suppress a grin.

The company reach the inn and Marche went inside first. There were almost no people on the street. It was almost midnight, anyway. In the inn it was still quite crowded. The first floor was as always the pub section, and it was open until an hour after midnight. Clans who were gone during the day gathered here for their evening drink.

Marche walked up the counter and greeted the innkeeper.

"Good evening." Marche nodded "Do you still have a room for three please?"

"Certainly," the innkeeper smiled. "I'll go and prepare it, join the other guest until I'm done, if you want to. Or order a drink."

"Maybe I will." Marche thanked him and they went to find themselves a table to sit on. It was then, Marche eyes grew wide and became filled with hate and sudden anger. He drew his sword, the crowd stared at him and quickly went out of his way. As he walked towards his goal, things became silent. Everyone he neared or passed, did a step out of the way.

"I'll be damned!" Marche hissed, a voice vicious with hate "Ritz Malheur!" And indeed, on a table in the corner Ritz sat, shivering with fear, together with some other clan members of her. She swallowed hard. It had become very silent. You could hear a nail drop on the ground.

"Marche." She smiled weakly.

Marche breathed heavily, his hand holding his sword tightly. "Get out Whitey Locks!" He hissed. Her face turned pale.

"Marche…" she pleaded "This isn't the place… please, I-"

With a swift strike Marche had planted his sword in the table, only inches away of her hand.

"I… said…" He breathed "Get… out… _Whitey locks_!"

Ritz quietly stood up, took her belongings and left the inn with her clan, tears running over her cheeks.

The inn was silent, looking afraid to the Ultima Knight. But Marche put his sword back and took a wallet with money. He tossed it at the innkeeper. "For the damaged table." He shrugged. Then Marche went upstairs to get some sleep, while Montblanc and Seth sat down to discuss what had to be done next.

---  
Yes, Marche is kinda vicious towards Ritz, isn't he? He hates her.  
Don't worry, it won't stay like this, but both of them will have to struggle.  
I hope to update more often. Sorry for the long wait.


	6. Chapter 6: Walking on a chosen Path

**6. Walking on a chosen Path**

Ritz stumbled through the dark streets of Muscadet. Shara was next to her, supporting her. The red-haired girl was crying. Tears streamed rapidly over her cheeks. Again and again she heard him breath those words, viciously. "_Get out Whitey Locks!"_ She groaned _"Whitey Locks!"_ She hung her head.

"He hates me, Shara." She sobbed. "He can't stand me anymore! What do I have to do?"

"I say, leave him alone Ritz… He clearly doesn't want to see you anymore, he considers you an enemy. You should get over it and forget about him, Ritz, it's not like he's going to change."

"I can't!" she cried, a small hint of her stubborn self in her voice. She shrugged of Shara's supporting arm and turned to her friends. "You all don't understand!" Ritz sighed "Don't you realize?"

"Realize what?" Elena wanted to know. She was getting a bit impatient with her clan leader's depression. Ritz was a good and strong fighter, but lately, she had been sad, depressed and a very poor leader. All because of one defeat.

"I know Marche!" Ritz sneered "And I know he's not like that! Not the real Marche! Not the Marche Mewt and I had as a friend in St. Ivalice!"

"Than he has changed!" Shara snapped. "You said for yourself: he has changed. Okay, get over it. Ivalice still exists! You still have your friends, your clan! What are you complaining about? That your boyfriend doesn't like you anymore!"

A wave of anger washed over Ritz and she couldn't control it anymore. Before she knew, she had slapped Shara on the cheek, before turning around and running away, tears and anger in her eyes.

Ritz stopped running when she was out of Muscadet, on a wide open field. She gasped for breath, but still was very angry. At the same moment, however, she felt sorry she had slapped Shara like that. That Viera had been so supporting and friendly to her from the moment they had met… And now, she had slapped her friend because of what she had said…

"Is it true?" Ritz wondered "Was Marche my… boyfriend?" She shook her head and clenched her fist. "No, he wasn't an ordinary 'boyfriend'." He punched herself on the chest, forcing herself to speak the truth. "Okay, so I had a crush on him!" She cried. She punched herself again. "What do you want?" she grumbled "I said it! I had a crush on him, what more do you want?"

She walked over to a small river and looked in the water. Her reflection stared back. "What more do you want?" Her reflection frowned at her. Ritz sighed. "I don't understand…" The reflection sighed and shook her head. Ritz stood up and walked further into the field.

"I know what I saw and felt. I realized something is wrong, or at least not good, with Marche." She bowed her head and continued to walk further, thinking. "Marche isn't like that, Marche isn't eaten away by hate and grieving thoughts… That just isn't him!" She closed her eyes and thought of what he said to her during their battle. "He said it was his desire to defeat me that kept him alive and going during the battle that mend his death for sure. Yet he survived, because he wanted to defeat me. No, because he wanted to prove he was a great fighter, just like I am. And he wanted to prove that because I always seemed to humiliate him during our encounters…" Further and further she walked into the field. "He was humiliated by me because I always kept in check how strong he was. Then I became stronger. Was it to keep myself ahead of him? Yes…" She nodded "I always took the upper hand during our encounters, but I wanted to impress him! I wanted to show how good I could fight! Not because I wanted to humiliate him…"

"When I learned my S-skill and he learned I knew it, that was the Final Drip. When he learned that, it was shortly after the Golden Clocks mission… When he learned about my S-skill, he must have exploded or something. From then on, he only desired to become better, to defeat me, to humiliate me… But that just isn't Marche!" She thought a bit harder. "But wait, my S-skill was the final drip, his desire was already caused by something I said before… He mentioned Golden Clocks…" It hit her. "Of course…" She fell on her knees. "I said I just might side with Mewt, and then we would be enemies…" It became clear to her. "He felt betrayed, he was thorn by the thought I would end up being his enemy, or worse, the person to put him in jail… But was it only this thought that caused his desire?" She thought a bit deeper, she was certain she almost had it. "No! It was that thought, combined with the fact that I would do it all to keep my stupid hair colour! And my S-skill was the Final Drip…" She understood now. It had all become clear. "His desire to defeat me was started already during our first encounter, when I didn't want to help him. The second one not much did happen, but I left again without wanting to help him… Then a lot of time passed, me growing better, and of course, learning of Marche's actions. Than the bounty on his head came, and the Golden Clocks mission we took. During that mission, he wanted an explanation for my unfriendly behaviour against him." She hit herself on the head "And I said it was non of his beeswax… I didn't trust him, while all he wanted was to help me… And then I spoke those stupid words because of my even more stupid hair colour! And he ran away, saying "Yeah, sounds like something you would love to do!"… Then he was already convinced to teach me my place. But then he learned of my S-skill, and than he completely lost his old self against me…"

She sat on her hands and knees, sobbing. "But I swear Marche, I swear I'm sorry! I swear I regret it all!" She threw her hands at the moonless sky. "Just give me another chance Marche! Allow me to make it right again!"

In her head, she heard him calling her Whitey Locks again, with that… animalistic, vicious voice. She staggered up on her feet again. She swept away her tears, but new ones immediately formed in the corner of her eyes. She heard a hiss. She spun around, looking in the face of a Grass Wyvern. The creature advanced on her. She saw the Judge appear, an engagement had started. Ritz grabbed her Femme Fatale And ran towards the dragon.

"I can still fight!" She sobbed, but her swipe missed. The dragon jumped in the air and smacked her down with its tail. She got on her feet again and could barely dodge an Aero breath from the wyvern. She clenched her jaw and jumped at the dragon, managing to slash its wing. "I can still fight for what I believe in!" The words had courage in them, no more tears. The dragon growled and struck her with its forepaw, but was forced to land because of its injury at its wing. She charged again "And I believe in the fact that I can earn your forgiveness, Marche!" She hacked the shoulder of the dragon open, it howled in fury.

"I will fight, Marche! Fight for you! Fight until I've suffered and paid enough so you can forgive me!" She advanced, the flame of courage in her was rekindled. Maybe it made her a bit to overconfident, because when she struck the wyvern's other wing, it smacked her against the ground with its other, not injured arm. She tried to scramble up, but was smacked down again by its tail. She groaned in pain. The dragon than blasted her away with Aero breath, and she landed painfully against a tree. She didn't stir anymore. Yet she had the will to fight. But she was alone, alone against a Grass Wyvern was foolishness. The wyvern advanced on her again, ready to finish the job. Just a it raised its might claws, an arrow struck it the side, and another one. Ritz looked over her shoulder.

"Shara!"

The sniper smiled and aimed her bow again. Apparently she had used double shot against the wyvern, which now looked confused.

"Now's your chance, Ritz!" Shara encouraged her. "You can still fight. Your clan can still fight. And we'll help you fight for what you want to fight!"

"Yeah." Elena the assassin came out of nowhere, jumped on the back of the dragon and used Oblivion. The dragon roared and turned it's attention on the quick assassin. It bit and slashed at her, but Elena was faster. Meanwhile, Renna, the Elementalist of the clan, snuck up to Ritz and used White Flame on the fallen Fencer. Ritz thanked her and got up. She gripped her Femme Fatale and ran at the Wyvern again.

"I can do it, everyone is behind me, backing me up, believing in me. I believe in it as well!" She jumped up in the air and gathered power from the stars this time. Elena did four back flips in a row to get away from the Grass Dragon.

"I will fight, Marche, if I have to, to be worthy enough to be forgiven by you!" She swung her Femme Fatale at the wyvern "Finishing Move!"

The rapier pierced in the ground and immediately the star energy started to gush out and rush upward in a pillar of silver, sparkling energy. The Grass Wyvern howled in pain, but then fell, defeated and KO'ed.

"KO verified, victory to clan Ritz." Then the judge was gone.

Ritz breathed deeply, then put away her Femme Fatale. She hesitatingly turned to her clan.

"Thank you." Ritz bowed her head and held back her tears.

"Well then, Ritz" Shara said "Seems like you made up your mind."

The Fencer nodded and looked up, her eyes catching Shara's. Ritz managed to smile. "I'm sorry for slapping you."

"I guess I deserved it, otherwise, you wouldn't have done it…" Shara waved her hand, like she wanted to say everything was forgiven and forgotten. Ritz thanked her, before doing a few step forward so her clan could hear her.

"Ehm… I have decided…" She stammered "I've decided to…" It was hard to tell them. "From now on I'm only going to fight for Marche forgiveness. I don't care about missions, clan turf or clan wars anymore… I just can't enjoy them while knowing Marche is out there hating me…" She lowered her head and sighed. "I'm sorry… And I won't force you to follow me in this."

"Ha!" Elena snapped "Like we're going to let you try and talk to that Ultima Knight alone! It'll take more than just yourself to approach that guy. He's pretty violent when he sees you."

"Elena" Renna whispered "You don't have to be so blunt about it. This is a painful thing to talk about for Ritz."

"No, it's alright Renna, I know Elena has good intentions."

"We all have, Ritz!" Shara reminded her. "We'll help you out, we're your friends, for crying out loud!"

"Does everybody think that way?" Everybody glared at the red haired girl when she asked that, and that was prove enough for Ritz. Suddenly, she felt like smiling. And she did, relieved. The path would be long and hard, but it would be worth it.

"I have chosen, Marche." Ritz said to herself. "I'll show you that I've changed too. I have chosen my path, and that path leads to you, and your forgiveness."

---And now you could consider it that things have really started. I can tell that the path Ritz has chosen isn't the most easy one. But a person who believes in himself, can do many things.


	7. Chapter 7: Secret Meeting

First of all, SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! But don't worry, I'm back now and hopefully I'll be able to update a bit more often. I was just bussy replaying Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I finally managed to kick those Corrupt Judges' behind after doing those 300 missions! Yeah! Okay, now on to the chapter. Thank you all for your patience. Now enjoy.

**7. Secret Meeting**

"Are you sure it's not a trap, Ritz?" Shara looked suspiciously around. The streets of Sprohm were crowded with the races of Ivalice, each leading his or her daily life.

"Absolutely Shara." Ritz nodded. A Viera and a Human girl together was nothing special, so they were barely noticed at all. They were just part of the crowd. "Doned said he would meet with us in the 'Glass Cup', one of the lesser known pubs of Sprohm. Marche never came there before. He won't know we were there."

"I wonder how Marche's brother knew about the pub then, if it's not that well known."

"You forget" Ritz smiled "That Doned is the 'informant' of Clan Marche. He's quite well known under the humans and moogles, even before he joined Marche's Clan. He had a lot of time to explore."

"You're probably right, Ritz. Yet, I wonder why he would do things behind his brother's back?"

"Maybe he's worried about Marche, just like I am…" Ritz hung her head. A week had passed since she had decided to fight for Marche forgiveness. Two days ago, the pubmaster of the inn they were staying at, gave them a notice that somebody left behind from them. It was from Doned, a letter shaped to look like a plain normal Mission Request. He wanted to see Ritz in the 'Glass Cup' inn in Sprohm. It didn't take Ritz long to decide what she would do.

"Here it is." They stood before the front door of the small pub, situated in a narrow street, barely noticeable when you're walking through the main streets of Sprohm. Ritz stared at the small, wooden plate with the name of the pub on it, above the door. She looked at Shara, who nodded. A bit nervous, the Fencer pushed open the door and went inside. The pub was almost empty. There were two suspicious hooded figures sitting in a dark corner, a bit out of sight, on the left of the bar. At the right wall of the pub, under a portrait showing a Wyvern, Doned waved at them. The two quickly took place at the table.

"Heya Ritz." The boy greeted.

"Hi Doned. It's been a while, isn't it?"

"Since we met each other when Mewt showed us the book." Marche's brother reminded her.

"Yeah, well." Ritz smiled "I'm glad you can walk here, it must have been a great surprise when you woke up, no?"

Doned nodded approvingly. "Sure was. Of course that immediately made me say: 'I don't want to go back.' Which put me against my own brother." Doned sighed. "Foolishness of me. But, Marche and I talked a lot lately, before he went to Ambervale. And he's not angry with me anymore, and I no longer would try to stop him."

"You're lucky." Ritz sighed deeply. "That he forgave you so easily, I mean. I was put against him too, and he doesn't even want to see me anymore…"

Doned took a sip of his glass before he continued. "Yeah, well… That's what I wanted to talk about."

"That's no surprise to me." Ritz grinned, then, in a more serious tone, she continued: "Do you also have the feeling that something is wrong with Marche?"

"A feeling?" Doned gasped "Ritz, I'm sure of it! He's not himself anymore for a very long time, and since he came back from Ambervale it only became worse."

"Speaking of Ambervale, why didn't he change the world back to normal?" This question had kept Ritz busy ever since she had met Marche in the pub were he had forced her to leave. She looked at Doned, who hesitated to answer.

"Ritz, we never existed in St. Ivalice."

It took a while before Ritz fully realized the meaning of those words. Slowly she examined every word, one after one. Until the meaning of that sentence hit her like a hard blow.

"H-How?" Was all she could say. Doned sighed, and began to explain.

"So this is not a dream, this is a different reality. Our fates were changed the day we came here, so we would fit in this world. Now that the book has lost its power, these changes cannot be undone. And so, according to 'Fate', we never existed in St. Ivalice in the first place, so we can't go 'home', because it never was our home." Doned took a deep breath after letting out the entire story. He gulped his drink quickly, his throat was dry from all the speaking.

"That really must have been quite a blow for Marche then." Shara commented.

"That's an understatement, I dare to say. He was enraged, ruined like the entire fauna of Ambervale, before he finally calmed down and openly forgave Mewt. He wanted to let everyone believe that he was fine, but I'm his brother, I know better. So does Montblanc, and his clan. We can't be fooled, we know him too well for that." Doned shook his head. "And this wound is his mind doesn't heal, Ritz. Everything keeps pressing on him and he can't shake the sorrow and pain away. He keeps it inside him and I fear it's slowly eating him away." Ritz listened, horrified. "He pretends to have fun with his clan, and I don't doubt the fact that he is having fun, but he hasn't left his sorrow, his grieving, behind. It's still there, in him, and sooner or later, it is going to explode. Then, we'll have a problem."

"Is there anything we can do to help him? We have to help him, right?" She forgot her own inner pains Marche's attitude gave her, she was far too worried about Marche.

"It's partly my fault." She thought "For what I did, also eats him away, together with all his other grieving and sorrow." She punched herself on her chest, cursing.

"What can we do to help him, Doned? Tell me, please."

"I don't know." The boy hung his head. "Ritz, you and Marche always have been good friends. I'm sure that if you and him make peace, he'll be able to get over it, I'm certain of it. You have to make him stop hating you!"

"But I can't, Doned. He won't let me come near him, he won't even let me be in the same room, or building, like him. I want to be forgiven by him so badly, but he just won't allow me!"

"Luckily, I kept that in mind." Doned managed to smile briefly. "You see, I think that you'll need to approach him under circumstances in which he isn't allowed to harm you, or kill you, for that matter."

"You mean, in an engagement?" Shara asked. Doned nodded approvingly.

"Because of the laws, he can't harm you or it means prison for him, something he'll want to avoid. So, we must carefully approach Marche, slowly, taking our time. Each step, doing just a tad more." Doned took a paper scroll from a pocket in his jacket. "I've searched for the missions that are available this month and which one he's most likely to take. If he has accepted a mission, I'll send you a letter telling you were he's off to. If you offer him help during an engagement, perhaps he'll tolerate your presence more. After all, you're a good fighter, I suppose?"

"But he's an Ultima Knight." Ritz exclaimed "Why would he need my help?"

"Well, if he doesn't allow you in for your help, maybe he will to show you he's better than you? That's kinda what he desires. Humilate you like you, in his eyes, humiliated him. He won't avoid a chance to do so."

"Yet, I think he's going to find it a bit odd that I pop up during his mission all the time. He's clever and of course will find it suspicious!"

"Hey, I'm not foolish and certainly not that foolish!" Doned replied with a wink "This will take time, Ritz! We have to put time between the mission you'll try to approach him! A week or two, or maybe a month! But you two have to sort out your differences."

"I wonder…" Shara grinned "Why you're that eager to get Ritz and Marche together again?"

"What!" Doned's face turned red and he avoided their gaze. "I'm not eager to get them together! I'm only worried about my brother, that's all!"

"Shara, that wasn't nice." Ritz looked at her friend, not finding it funny.

"Ah, you're hopeless." The Viera shook her head, still grinning.

After the plans, they chatted some more about their adventures in Ivalice, until it was time for Doned to go back to Marche before he would get suspicious. Ritz thanked him for his help and then they silently left the pub.

"Well, that certainly was an interesting discussion." One of the hooded figures in the corner of the pub said. At that moment, the door of the pub opened again. Another black hooded figure entered the pub and took a seat at the table of the other two. It was silent for a while.

"Say boss…" The second figure said, his voice sounding hoarse and cold, without any warm emotions. "You won't believe who we just saw here…"

The newly arrived stranger only turned his hooded head.

"Whitey-locks was here, together with one of those bunny woman."

Now, the third figure became interested. He leaned forward a bit. "Really? My, tell me everything, this might be our chance!"

---

Well, that's it for this chapter. Again, my apologies. Hopefully you readers are still willing to read and reply after letting you wait for so long. Sorry!


	8. Chapter 8: First Chance

**8. First chance**

Ritz didn't had to wait long before she got a message from Doned. That morning she had woken up lately, when Shara came in and told her there was a notice up in the pub from Doned. In two minutes and seventeen seconds Ritz had dressed herself, washed her face and hands very quickly and slid on her battle outfit. She almost flew to the notice that was waiting for her. Shara shook her head and ordered some breakfast for Ritz while the Fencer was reading Doned's notice.

_Earning Forgiveness_

_Marche is on his way to Materiwood to turn in a bunch of Materite Swindlers.  
__That's not far from where you are! You might get there first and wait for him.  
__Just be careful, okay? _

_Doned._

"Materiwood." Shara said, she had been reading over Ritz's shoulder. "Let me guess, we are leaving as soon as you ate your breakfast?" Ritz nodded, sat down and began eating, her mind thinking about very much at the same time. Shara observed her, like she knew what Ritz was thinking.

"Yes, he'll be suspicious." The Viera said. Ritz only nodded.

"Shara." Ritz looked thoughtfully in front of her. Something was on her mind, it was obvious. "Do you have any idea what has gotten in Marche? He's not the Marche I once knew, not the Marche before 'Golden Clocks' that could have fun with his clan. He's… He's like a completely different person to me."

The Viera sniper took her time to think about her answer. She knew Ritz was right, but she also knew some things that even Ritz did not know. Secrets of the Viera. Legends of Ivalice long forgotten. Only the spirits still knew them, and thus did the Viera.

"Ritz, Marche grieves a lot lately, doesn't he? He has a lot to think about, a lot on his mind."

"I know that. And I understand why. But what he told me, this _desire_ to be better than me, to teach me my place and all that, that is not Marche. The Marche I and Mewt knew in St. Ivalice never would have such 'dark' thoughts. Such… selfish thoughts." Ritz sighed and hung her head. Actually, she was afraid to go to Materiwood. But she knew she would have to go.

"Old legends of Ivalice tell about people who fell to despair." Shara suddenly whispered. "People who were so lost in their grieving that they lost themselves. Thoughts filled their mind that never were there before. Deeper and deeper they fell and no one could ever pull them back out…"

Ritz became very pale.

Marche breathed in the welcome, pure air of Materiwood. The forest gave of this peaceful feeling. He enjoyed the birds singing. The drops of water on the grass and on the leaves. Materiwood awakened after a nightlong sleep. Long he could not enjoy this peace, however, he was here on business. He had some Materite Swindlers to turn in. He turned to Ardaun, the Ninja of his clan. Sillently he whispered: "Ardaun, can you scout the area? We need to be cautious." The Ninja nodded and as a shadow he snuck away between the green.

"The rest of you, weapons ready, we'll slowly follow." A silent nod was the answer. Marche unsheathed his Ultima Weapon. Seth prepared his God Hands. Montblanc readied his Sapere Aude. Marche mentioned them to follow. They walked on the grass to make their footsteps as silent as possible. After a few minutes, Ardaun returned.

"No sign of the swindlers Marche. They must be deeper in the forest."

"I see, thanks Ardaun, hold those Masamune's of you ready." The Ninja gladly obeyed and took out his two katana's. The group then moved deeper into the woods. It might take them even a day or two before they would even find the swindlers, but they had time.

"Kupo, we could have taken Devianor with us, Marche." Montblanc commented as they sat down next to a river to rest for a while.

"Maybe, yeah, but our Sage was needed for that dispatch mission. I could have sent either of you guys, but this mission was clearly cut out for him."

"Ha, finding a lost book!" Ardaun laughed, but silently. "Some people need help with the easiest of things."

"Who cares?" Marche shrugged "Easier gill that way. And that would be nice, for a change, last time we went after a criminal you almost died in Jagd Helje. Luckily I finished that Assasin of before it got to that."

"You're an Ultima Knight." Seth shrugged "You'll never loose. With you leading the clan, we'll get to the top without any problems."

Marche threw his head backed and laughed. Montblanc smiled when he noticed this was a real laugh, of a Marche that was really happy. Marche's mood could turn like the weather. Sometimes he was perfectly happy, at others, you could best leave him alone. It had been like this since they returned from Ambervale and it didn't grow any better. But the clan adjusted to it and quarrels remained out.

"The best Clan in Ivalice? Sounds cool." Montblanc recognized this sentence. Marche had said it once before… After the first meeting with Ritz…

"Anyway." Marche smiled, "we need to go and find ourselves some Materite swindlers. Might take some days, this forest is huge!" He stared up, to the trees. The sunlight fell through the holes between the leaves. He could hear the birds. The wind blowing softly. It was beautiful. Yet, he had to continue the mission.

"I wish we had a clue where to find those Materite Swindlers, though." Ardaun remarked.

Marche was about to reply when somebody else did. "We could give you a hand, if you want." Marche's blood boiled immediately. Within a second he had jumped to his feet, spun around and had his Ultima Weapon ready. Sure enough, Ritz Malheur Walked over the bridge over the river towards them, accompanied by Shara and Elena.

"Not a step closer, Whitey Locks." Marcher warned, his voice desperately trying to sound calm.

"I'm not here to fight." Ritz explained. "We took a mission to take on some Materite Swindlers and when we were just heading to their camp we heard voices over here. Turned out to be you, Marche."

"I'm not foolish." Marche grinned "And certainly not THAT foolish! You expect me to believe that, whitey locks?"

"Take it as you wish." Ritz shrugged. Her Femme Fatale dangled on her belt, but she showed no intentions to unsheathing it. "We know where the Materite Swindlers are. I'm willing to show you guys too, if you let us in on the job."

Marche started to answer but Montblanc tugged his arm. "Sounds like a fair deal, kupo. It will save us hours of searching and the job will be done even faster! I say we accept her help, kupo." Marche sighed and studied the faces of his fellow clan members.

"You all think about it the same way Montblanc does, don't you?" They nodded and another sigh escaped Marche's lips. "I'm outnumbered 6 against 1…" He muttered. Then he swung his Ultima Weapon in an annoyed gesture. "Oh alright! Lead the way, whitey locks!"

"My name is Ritz…" She said, looking at her feet and her cheeks glowing. Marche made a sneering sound and mentioned her to start moving.

---  
New chapter. Enjoy! Forgive me (Haha, get it? Okay, lame, I know.) for the long delay and drop a reply, please.


	9. Chapter 9: Suspicion

**9. Suspicion**

"How much further is it?" Marche growled in annoyance. He wanted to get away from Ritz as soon as possible, but the trip through Materiwood was taking forever.

"You asked that five minutes ago!" Ritz sighed.

"Oh I'm sorry!" he replied, a voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm just getting sick of your company whitey locks!"

"Stop calling her like that!" Elena snapped. Marche made a sneering sound. He gave the Viera a hateful glance. "What are you going to do about it?" Elena's hand closed around her Kikuichimonji's handle. Marche raised his Ultima Weapon in a second.

"Don't even try." He whispered, with a sly grin.

"Elena, it's okay." Ritz interrupted, putting the Assasin's blade down.

"But Ritz!" Elena protested.

"Hush!" The Fencer cried. She glanced at Elena, who felled silent and then nodded, putting her blade away. Offended, the Viera turned her back towards Marche and walked away, next to Shara, not looking back.

"Marche, keep others out of this." Ritz pleaded "This is something between us." Marche walked up to her and stared in her eyes. For a moment, Ritz hoped he would understand, or that she could see the Marche she always had known again. But Marche shrugged and pushed her in front of the group. She nearly fell.

"You're supposed to lead the way, not to sort out personal differences between us that I have no desire of to sort out."

Ritz bit away her tears when she stood up and hurried in front of the group to lead them towards the Swindler's camp. Marche followed on a distance and behind him, were Montblanc, Seth and Ardaun. They didn't like the way Marche treated Ritz, but didn't dare to say anything about it when Ritz was close. When they were alone, Marche would be good company like always, a friend they could have fun with. But always when Ritz was around, his personality changed to the opposite, being quick to anger, aggressive and vicious. And the least they wanted was to make an Ultima Knight angry. They knew Marche would never hurt them. But the other Marche, that was another story. And so they remained silent.

"There." Ritz whispered, pointing to the open spot in the forest, where a numbered of huge rocks decorated the riverside. Between the rocks the Materite swindlers had made their camp.

"A sniper, a gunner, two soldiers, an assassin, a thief and a sage." Marche counted. He glared at Ritz. "You sure it's them?"

The fencer nodded silently, avoiding his gaze, staring at the unaware clan instead. Marche ignored her and went to his clan. "There's seven of them." He told them. "If we count them" He pointed at the members of Clan Ritz "We're evenly matched."

"We're not, kupo." Montblanc winked.

"huh?"

"You're an Ultima Knight. You could defeat them all yourself." Seth shrugged. Marche silently grinned.

"Well, I can't deny that. But I won't take away all the fun. Common, let's do it together."

They clanked there weapons together. "As one." They whispered in union. Then they went back to the edge of the open spot, were Ritz waited, hiding behind a broad tree.

"Ready?" she asked Shara and Elena. The Viera nodded. She looked at Marche. He didn't answer. "We're ready for some combat, kupo." Montblanc replied instead of Marche.

"Will you lead, Marche?" Ritz carefully asked. The Ultima Knight took his Ultima Weapon firmly in his hand and smiled.

"Watch how it is done, whitey locks."

He walked calmly towards the swindlers, who spotted him almost immediately.

"We've been found!" The thief hissed angrily. He glared at Marche. "Leave now and forget what you saw or you're going to regret it!"

Marche yawned. "I have no time for chatting. You're swindlers and you're going to have a new camp, namely jail!"

Before anybody had made a move, the Judge appeared. Marche quickly remembered the laws of this day. Luckily for him, he could fight freely. Ritz and the others soon came out of the forest too, but Marche had already ran towards the swindlers.

"He's too reckless!" Ritz sighed. Montblanc shook his head.

"Marche knows what he's doing, kupo." He readied his staff. "Time for some moogle magic."

Marche had ran towards the thief as soon as the judge had appeared. The thief clearly intended to catch Marche's blow. "Fool." Marche thought. When he was only three feet away of his opponent, Marche jumped high in the air. "Climhazzard!" His Ultima Weapon glowed brightly red and as he landed, he struck his surprised opponent. The energy of his blade expanded in growing circles, smashing the thief against the ground and KO'ing him in one hit. "Too easy!" Marche shouted, before storming towards his next victim.

Meanwhile, the others had reached the battleground as well. Shara had taken out the sniper with a well aimed arrow, Elena was caught up in a fight with the Assasin and Ritz was engaged with one of the soldiers. From a distance Montblanc was taking out the gunner with some well-aimed black Magic, while Seth and Ardaun took out the Sage together.

Marche was duelling with the other soldier in the meantime. The soldier seemed to posses some black magic as well as he made Marche back of with a fire spell. He then ran between the rocks. "Coward!" Marche sneered. He charged his blade, which glowed blindingly white.

"Shock!" He made a gesture with his blade towards one of the large rocks. The energy flew of his blade and crashed against the rocks, shattering it completely. But there was none behind it. Marche cursed and decided not to spend any more energy on this. Instead, he decided to search for his opponent without blowing up the scenery. Carefully walking between the rocks, he tried to keep his attention on any sudden sound, doing his best to ignore the noise from the battle away from him. He heard a stone hitting a rock behind him. He turned around quickly, but saw nobody. Suddenly he was blown forward on the ground and as he tried to get up, he felt incredibly weak. "Powerbreak…" He cursed. In the corner of his eye he saw the soldier advancing for the KO'ing blow and Marche cursed himself for falling at such a cheap trick.

"Nighthawk!"

The sudden attack made the soldier stumble backwards, away from Marche. The Ultima Knight then found his strength returning by a healing spell, which he guessed was Earth Heal. He stood up and looked at Ritz, who had just kind of saved him. But instead of a thank you he shot her a vicious and ungrateful look.

"I didn't ask for your help whitey locks!" He hissed, before turning around and blasting the soldier KO with Shock. The Judge then declared the engagement as over, as the others had managed to KO their opponents as well. The judge sent all swindlers to prison before promptly disappearing.

"Alright!" Ardaun cried "That wraps this mission up nicely!" He and Seth clasped their hands together. Ritz nodded to Shara and Elena. Everybody had come out of this one without any mayor injuries. Elena suffered a few cuts and Seth had been hit on the shoulder with a mace, but nothing too serious. Montblanc carefully approached Marche.

"Kupo?"

"You alright, Montblanc?" The Ultima Knight asked without looking at his friend. The Moogle mage nodded. He looked at Marche and saw his friend smiling weakly. Marche turned to the other two members of his clan. "Alright, we're going." He put away his Ultima Weapon and started walking away when Montblanc stopped him and tugged his arm.

"You should at least thank them, kupo. They really helped us out."

Marche sighed deeply. "Do I really have to?" And when Montblanc, Seth and Ardaun nodded in union he hung his head, disappointed. HE turned towards Ritz, and he seemed to hesitate. The look in his eyes was mixed. Like he didn't know if he had to give her a thankful or a hateful look. Eventually Marched looked thankful and began to say something, when he suddenly turned his back towards her and strode away, a vicious, twisted look on his face.

"DON'T YOU EVER TRY TO MAKE ME DO A THING LIKE THIS AGAIN!!!" He shouted to Montblanc, before walking away, ignoring them completely, not caring if they followed him or not. Everybody just stared at the place Marche had disappeared in the woods.

Speechless.

It had become so silent on the open spot, even the birds were silent. Only the water could be heard, but nothing else. They just couldn't believe Marche had been so… Rude and insulting at Ritz, but also incredibly angry at his best friend. They couldn't understand how somebody could be like that. Not somebody like Marche, at least.

"Hey." Seth eventually said, tapping Ardaun on his arm. "Don't you think we sshould catch up with him?" The Ninja nodded and the two started to walk after Marche, after giving a nod to clan Ritz. Montblanc didn't stir. He was gazing at his feet, not knowing what to do or say. Eventually Ritz walked up to him.

"Montblanc?" No reaction. "You shouldn't have. This is something I have to deal with alone, please… I don't want to get you guys into trouble."

"Marche's not like that." The moogle said, not answering to what Ritz just said. "Marche is not violent, kupo…"

"I know." Ritz replied. She gazed of in the distance. "Marche is very different…" The Fencer made up her mind. "Montblanc, you better hurry after him now, but could you come to Muscadet one of these days? Without telling Marche, of course. And maybe bring Doned, too…" This time, the black mage did look up.

"Why, kupo?"

Ritz leaned closer, afraid somebody could hear them. "I need to tell you a few things and also, we need to discuss a bit more what we do with Marche, he's not only your friend, you know…"

Montblanc nodded. "Kupo, I'll sent a note if I can come." Then he hurried after Seth and Ardaun. "And oh, thanks for the help, kupo." Ritz smiled as she watched Marche's best friend disappear between the green.

"Another secret meeting?" Shara wondered. "What's up with that?"

"Shara, Elena, you're still behind me, right?" Ritz carefully asked.

"Well, duh. Why do you ask?" Elena replied.

"Oh, I was just wondering…" The fencer muttered. "Okay, let's go to, we've got a few things to do."

"We do?" Elena asked, puzzled. Ritz nodded and walked off. The two Viera followed her, wondering what Ritz had in mind, and why she wanted to secretly meet Montblanc and Doned again.

"Muscadet, huh?" The tallest black figure, sitting cosily on a tree branch, wondered.

"Well, that's what whitey locks said." The second shrugged. "Why? We're going after her?"

"Not yet." The first replied again. "We still have some other things to take care of." He jumped down and landed steadily on his feet.

"Common you lazy morons! I haven't got all day."

"Who made you the leader?" the third person asked. When the first person counted his large claws, the third took that as a good enough answer. Smiling his two companions understood, the tallest person started to walk the direction Ritz went.

"Come, soon it will be dark, and that is the perfect time for us Necromancers to work on our plan."

---  
A longer than usual chapter, see it as your present for New Year, guys. Now read and drop a review please, that would be a very nice present for me.


	10. Chapter 10: Desperation

**10. Desperation**

The situation only worsened. Marche wasn't all too happy when Montblanc and Doned were gone at the same time. He suspected that Ritz had something to do with it and cursed her. He was getting sick of this game. Or was he? A part of him said so, while the other half was still unsure. The Ultima Knight sighed deeply and cursed again. It was a boring, mission-less day. The others had gone to the pub to get a drink or went shopping for some weapons or armour. But he, Marche, just sat silently on his bed in his room, pondering. Went Montblanc and Doned would come back, he would tell them what he thought of their sneakiness. And the mission Ritz 'accidentally' appeared on. It bothered him too. He suspected that somebody in his clan had something to do with this. Probably Doned. It didn't feel nice that he was suspecting his own brother, but that brother had done things against him before. He still remembered the Materite incident. Marche shook his head and jumped up, walking to the window, looking outside to the streets, crowded as usual. He was becoming used to this, he had to accept that this was his home now, anyway. At the same time he wondered how Mewt was doing. Strange. Since Ambervale Marche had kind of forgotten about Mewt. He touched his forehead and noticed how warm it felt. He hung his head, feeling a bit dizzy ever since he had stood up. He cursed again and went back to lay down on his bed.

"These headaches don't stop…" He whispered, covering his eyes with his hand. "So many things on my mind… It's pure torture." Marche sighed again and again. "Why?" he wondered aloud. "Why do I actually hate Ritz so much? I had no problems forgiving Mewt… Sure, Ritz's problem didn't strike me as life-troubling. And her behaviour against me was far from friendly, to say the least." He bit his lip. "If she wanted to stay, fine, she oculd have helped me still. I wouldn't have forced her to come home with me. Why did everybody I met think I wanted them to come home with me? All I wanted was a way to go home, somehow. And over time I grew convinced that I could do so by changing the world back. But what do you want, after everybody turns their back towards you?" He groaned. "But at first, going home never meant changing the entire world, forcing everybody to come with me…"

Marche got up again and took his Ultima Weapon. He needed to find the sage of his clan, hoping he could help him to enlighten this terrible headache a bit, again.

Ritz watched Montblanc en Doned go, and sighed. She had told them what she had thought of everything that had happened, and decided to quit with the plan. Doned had protested, but she had replied that this wasn't going about forgiveness anymore. It was going about Marche. About saving Marche from a terrible foe: himself. Yes, Ritz had realized that Marche had become bitter and hateful. Because of her. Because of what happened. But that isn't the real Marche. Ritz believed that the real Marche in there wants to forgive her, but that his bitter and hating side stops the good side. She would find a way to get him to open up, to save him. But she didn't know how. Shara, Elena, even the two Viera with their knowledge couldn't help her, or give her any clues. A tear rolled over her cheek. She was getting desperate. She felt stupid and helpless. She completely had forgotten any clan isues, causing some of her members to leave, leaving only Shara and Elena. It had pained Ritz, but she had understood. It had pained the Viera that left too, but they wanted a normal clan life, and Ritz had given them that. It hadn't changed anything to her situation, though.

"What do I have to do?" she whispered. "What can I do? I'm getting desperate for ideas. Marche, how can I help you?" She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"He needs to help himself too, Ritz. You can't do everything." Shara remarked solemnly.

"But I'm afraid he can't." She sighed "I'm afraid he himself doesn't allow himself to help himself."

Mewt stared out of the window of his room in the Palace. Things sure had changed ever since Ambervale. He was now actually 'aware' that he was a Prince, and that he did have responsibilities. No longer his 'mother' was here to aid him in things. But he still had his father. And Babus. They were a great support. Judgemaster Cid had kept his decision to act independent of the Palace in case of the laws, but that didn't mean that he couldn't help his son. Babus was there too, always.

"Your highness?" Babus shuffled into the room. Mewt turned his back to the window.

"Hi Babus. Is something wrong?" The Prince looked curiously at his attendant.

"Ah, not really your highness. Master Cid will be coming soon, I believe." Than his tone became a bit more soft. "If I might ask, what was your highness looking at?"

"Just, the sky, the Castle Courtyard. It helps me think." Mewt replied.

"His highness has problems?"

"I don't think I have. I think my friends have." Mewt hung his head and sighed. "It's been a long time since I heard anything of Marche. Ever since Ambervale. That just isn't right."

"If I am allowed, he probably is busy with his clan business." Babus shrugged.

"I have been asking some of the servants to inform to the activity of Clan Marche lately. It's not as active as before." The Prince remarked. "No Babus, there's trouble, I'm sure of it. I wish I could see Marche."

"But your highness can't go into town like a commoner." Babus stated. "Maybe we should invite Marche to the Palace?"

"Maybe…" Mewt replied, turning to the window again. "Or maybe I should ask Dad to check on Marche for me…" He shook his head, thinking. He saw his dad riding over the Courtyard on his Chocobo together with some high ranked Judges. Mewt sighed. "Well, Dad has arrived, we will speak about this matter later, Babus."

"As your highness wishes." The Runeseeker bowed and then went in front of Mewt as they both left the room.

A few boring days passed. Marche had become depressed. After Doned and Montblanc had comeback, he wanted to shout at them and be angry, but in the end he left that idea, saying they should just stay away from Ritz. After that there had been a few missions available, which they took, but Marche refused to come along. He stayed behind in the pub of Sprohm, drinking perhaps a bit too much in the days his fellow clan members were away. He had just ordered another drink, his fourth in half an hour, when somebody came into the pub he recognized as a Mission-Messenger. The young human went to the pub master and dropped some envelops.

"Express delivery." He panted "Some urgent new Missions from Lutia Pass and a few letters."

"Thanks." The pub master nodded. "Care for a drink?"

"No thanks." The messenger replied "I need to go again. Cyril waits on their mail. Till next time."

Mache ignored his drink and curiously checked the urgent mission from Lutia Pass.

_Did you hear about those people who died in the snowstorms of Lutia Pass?  
__They are back and are freezing travellers!_

_Basso, Streetear_

"Curious." Marche remarked, with a hint of his normal, friendly voice. "Dead people back? Like zombies or vampires?"

"That may be." The pup master replied, while drying of the glasses he just washed of. "However, not all undead are restless souls like Zombies or Monsters."

"Then how do they get back up?" Marche wondered, taking a sip of his drink. The pub master seemed a bit hesitant to reply. Then he leaned a bit closer to Marche.

"Now listen kid, most people get the creeps when they hear these stories. Apparently you haven't heard of them."

"Heard of what?"

The pub mastered looked around the pub and whispered as silent as he could. "About Necromancers, kid."

The pub fell silent. The Pub master had barely been hear-able, yet everybody now stared in shock and horror to Marche and the Pub Master.

"Necromancers?" Another shiver went through the pub. "What is a Necromancer?"

"A special type of job, only accessible to the ones with a dark, fully rotten heart. Necromaners are masters of the dead and the undead."

"What do they do?"

"They control undead like puppets! And they have many Dark Arts you never want to get used against ya. However, their most frightening ability is to awaken the dead." The Pub Master inspected his glass, trying to see if he had cleaned it good enough.

"Like the people who died in Lutia Pass?"

"Exactly! When you have dead, nice people suddenly up and running again you can bet there's a Necromancer behind it."

"Curious." Marche shrugged. "It's the first time I've heard of such a class."

"Well, no wonder, even the most hardened criminals avoid the Necromancers like they avoid the jagds. Also, I believe the Palace is constantly in hunt of Necromancers. Good they are, cause a Necromancer is nothing but pure trouble."

"Really?" Marche stared at the mission notice, then grinned with excitement. "I'll take that Mission."

"You're not afraid of the Necromancers?" a customer wondered. Marche shook his head.

"I've had the entire Palace on my trail, fought in jagds, battled the Totema's and faced Ultima Weapon. I can handle some danger."

"Necromancers aren't some danger. They are deadly. But still, you've got power kid, so if we have to send someone, we might as well send an Ultima Knight to get us rid of them."

Just as Marche paid the mission fee, the door swung open and Ritz rushed in.

"Hey Pub Master, that snow mission still available?" She asked. Marche was so startled at her sudden appearance that he couldn't say anything hateful.

"Sorry lass. You're just a minute too late." Ritz looked at Marche and she began to understand.

"Ah Marche, so you are the one who took it." He clenched his jaw and reached for his sword, his blood boiling. "Works out perfectly then." Ritz continued. "Mind taking me along with you? I don't need any pay or something, I just want to go there too."

He was startled by her question. She asked it like she would ask Shara something. How did she dare to speak so normal to him? After all she had done? After all the hate he had given her? He was confused and could only stammer:

"M…Mind telling me why you would like to go so badly, whitey-locks?"

"Dead people in the snow intrigue me, what can I say?" she shrugged. "That's all really."

"Really?" Marche sneered. "Isn't it more like another stupid attempt at forgiveness?" He took a step towards her. "I warned you whitey-locks! Just stay the heck away from me, Doned, Montblanc or anybody in my clan!"

"They are throwing snowballs and hurt people…" Ritz whispered, not looking at him. "It reminds me of something. Something painful."

Marche's hate melted away. With a hard hid Marche pushed his hate away as well as he could. His headache worsened and he grabbed his forehead. After a few minutes, he managed to get a deep breath and relax a bit. He looked her straight in the eye.

"I see… Well…" He looked at her sideways. "Two is better than one. And if there is indeed a Necromancer involved here, I might be able to use some backup." He nodded. "Okay. We'll go together whitey-locks."

"Thanks Marche. I really appreciate it."

"You kids better watch yourselves out there. Be careful!" The Pub Master warned.

"We will, thanks. Oh yes…" He took a piece of paper from the bar and quickly wrote down some words, saying where he had gone and that whitey-locks was with him and that he was okay with that. "When my clan returns, mind giving them this?"

"No problem." The man then laid it with the other messages.

"Okay, now let's go whitey-locks." Marche then went outside, followed by Ritz. Outside, Ritz glanced to the corner of the pub and winked to Shara and Elena. The fencer breathed deeply, relieved her bold way of approaching Marche had worked. He still didn't like her, she could tell, but he tolerated her company, for now. She would try to keep it like that.

Marche hadn't really stopped hating her because it was her, but because of what she said.

"She's his friend, so am I. We fight for the memory of the same friend here. Mewt never was angry on her, I had to let her in on this." The Ultima Knight sighed deeply. Inside him, his hate grew stronger again, becoming more and more enraged. The hate screamed at Marche for being so incredibly foolish. Marche grabbed his forehead, his headache worsening. He felt so torn. He glanced at Ritz.

It was her fault! But at the same time, another voice said it wasn't...

---

Next chapter: Mortal Snow! Yay! Finally I get that Romance in it a bit. Or at least I hope I will. I also hoep that this chapter was long enough for everybody's tastes. Anyway, read, enjoy and drop a reply please. Constructive critisism is always welcomed.


	11. Chapter 11: Mortal Snow

A quicker update and the longest Path to Forgiving chapter yet! Hope you'll all enjoy it!

**11. Mortal Snow**

Marche and Ritz had left Sprohm behind for about two hours or so. They hadn't talked. At all. Ritz knew she didn't had to expect that, but she still would like it more if he would say something. Anything. Like the Gods had heard her plea, he suddenly and rudely asked:

"Where's the rest of your clan, whitey-locks?"

"I wanted to do this on my own. This is a bit more personal, as you know." She shyly looked at him. "But I could ask you the same thing. Where's your clan?"

"Away, on mission. I didn't want to go. I rather got drunk." Marche shrugged, turning away again.

"Marche…"

"I don't need your sympathy, whitey-locks!" He interrupted her. "You can come along on this one because of Mewt, that's all. Now let's continue on, shall we?"

She nodded, but still wanted to keep talking. "I still appreciate it that you let me in on this."

"Whatever."

The fencer sighed and continued to follow the Ultima Knight. "How long till we reach Lutia Pass?"

"A day or maybe two." The distant reply came. "If we aren't hindered by any engagements, that is."

"We could have hired Chocobos." Ritz remarked.

"I rather walk and get some time alone, or almost alone, so I can think." He touched his forehead again. His headache was less worse than in Sprohm. He was glad for that.

"Do you feel ill?" Ritz asked.

"A headache, that's all."

"I can help you, if you want…" She offered.

"No thanks."

"I'll do it anyways." She folded her hands, concentrated a bit and then cast White Flame on him, softening his terrible headache considerably. She smiled shyly at him, but he only grumbled. Ritz sighed and then followed him, keeping her distance. She felt glad that she could be alone with Marche for a change, and that he at least tolerated her presence.

"If I have to bring Marche back, it's now or never…" she thought.

When night began to fall, the two of them had just reached the foot of the Lutia Mountain.

"We'll follow the mountain pass tomorrow…" Marche muttered. "Now we should just find a place to rest."

"Well, I remember a cave being around here somewhere." Ritz whispered "It's a good place and the wind can't blow in it."

"Yeah, I know the place you're talking about." Marche nodded, slightly annoyed. "Well, common whitey-locks, unless you want to freeze."

Their feet sank into the fresh snow of the lonely mountain as they silently headed towards the cave where they could safely spend the night. It became darker and darker, but before it was so dark that they couldn't see, Marche had found the entrance. Ritz managed to light a tree branch that had broken of and they headed into the cave.

"Well, it's a common resting place for travellers alright." Marche nodded, looking at the remains of a fire the former visitor had made here. "There's even some more wood laying there." The Ultima Knight took some of the wood and laid it on the ash. "Lit the fire while I close of the entrance, okay, whitey-locks?" It didn't sound like a question, more like and order, but Ritz did it anyway. After she had done what he had requested, she took a large block of wood laying in of the corners, dusted it of and used it as a chair, close to the fire. She laid her backpack against the wall and then returned to her place at the fire. After a while, Marche returned.

"How did you seal of the entrance?" She carefully asked him.

"Outside I saw a suspicious large rock, I guess others have shoved it in front of the entrance before, so I did the same."

"Kay…" She hung her head and stared into the flames, not looking at him. Marche took some dried meat from his backpack and started eating. Ritz followed his example, but remained silent the entire time. After Marche was done eating and had gulped down some water from his flask, she dared to speak again.

"I really meant what I said this morning, you know, Marche."

"Hmm?"

"Letting me come along, I mean." She gave him a shy look. "After all that has happened lately, I didn't think you would allow me."

"Don't get used to it." He warned her. "I also mean what I said, it's because of Mewt you're allowed in, nothing else. Get it?"

"I get it." She nodded. "But…" She hesitated and bit her lip. "But I wish it wouldn't be that way, Marche."

"You should have thought of that before you started acting selfish, whitey-locks." He grinned, throwing some more wood on the fire.

"Can you really blame me?" She whispered. "All my life I've been made fun of because of my white hair. All days of my life my mother would cry when she dyed it. Would you like that?! Do you think living such a life is fun?!!"

Marche shrugged. "Wimpy little girl." He growled, Ritz flinched. "At school you had guts like no other, stood up for Mewt and me, but when you think about a stupid hair colour, all that courage is gone? Give me a break, whitey-locks. You had no reason to stay here." He sighed. "I thought you, of all people, would be the one who would agree with me. That you would agree with me to go back and stand up to your problems, kicking that problem hard where it hurts. But I was wrong…" Ritz said nothing, she only listened. "You were wimpy just like Mewt. But Mewt has changed now. You haven't. You still have that nice fake hair colour."

"I can't change it, even if I wanted to." She stated simply. "It's my natural hair colour here."

"It's still cowardly." Marche shook his head. "And even if you didn't agree with my believes, you didn't have to ruin our friendship by humiliating me every time we met each other."

"I didn't want to!" Ritz suddenly cried, a lot louder than she had intended. For a moment she lost it, she broke down. Her patience and nerves gave away. Tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Honestly Marche…" She sobbed. "All I wanted, was to prove you how strong I was. All I wanted was to make you proud. I just wanted you to notice me! I never intended to humiliate you."

"But you still did, whitey locks." Marche smiled, seemingly amused by her sudden crying and sobbing. "If you truly were my friend, you would have explained me your problem. But no, it was 'none of my beeswax'. Well whitey-locks, you don't have any beeswax with me anymore, either. All I want is you to get out of my life, preferable cease to exist. Just disappear, it would truly make me happy. No more you, no longer your filthy hair, no longer the memories of painful humiliation. If you really care for me, like you say you do, then go and don't come back to me. Jump of a cliff or something, but just go."

"You…" Tears stopped her from continuing. "You don't mean that… I know you don't!"

"Desperate, aren't we?"

"MARCHE!" But he didn't listen. He just continued to smile at the sight of her crying. But she didn't want to give up, not yet. She couldn't. His words pained her, more than any battle wound had ever pained her. His words were like needles, al piercing her, paining her. Why did she care so much, she asked herself. She could find other friends, ones that would accept her the way she is, with or without her past mistakes. Yet she hadn't been able to let go of Marche. She wanted the old Marche back. The Marche she was a friend of, together with me. The Marche that was kind and forgiving, no matter what. The Marche… her eyes went wide…

The Marche she loved.

"I know I've made mistakes, Marche…" She groaned. "I really know that, and I'm really sorry too. I mean it! Let this end Marche… Please… You were able to forgive Mewt, too! Just let go of this hate Marche… It isn't you!" She carefully waited for his reaction. It came, in the form of laughter. A laugh that just didn't fit the blond boy.

"Really whitey-locks, do you honestly think it is the same with you and Mewt?" He shook his head. "I could understand why Mewt wanted to stay, but your reasons were never my beeswax, so technically I don't know your reasons and I don't forgive people that humiliate me, ruin a friendship and don't trust their so-called 'friends'."

She stood up and slowly approached him, her jaw shut. He stood up to and glared at her, she shivered and stopped.

"You just don't seem to grasp it, whitey-locks." A sigh escaped his lips. "It's over. You ruined it, no turning back."

"No." She said. "That's true, I can't undo my mistakes, but I can work to repair the damage done. If you would just give me the chance!"

"Dream on." He sneered, getting angry.

"I won't stop coming back to you until you give me a chance!!!" She shouted. In an instance he had grabbed his Ultima Weapon and pointed it at Ritz.

"YOU'LL NEVER COME BACK TO ME AGAIN, WHITEY LOCKS!" He roared, swinging his blade in pure rage. She didn't stir. "I HATE YOU! MORE THAN I HATE ANYTHING! YOU RUINED MY LIFE! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING I EVER SAW IN YOU! I HATE YOU, YOU HEAR ME?!?!" He ran towards her, planning to kill her with his blade, but she was faster. Avoiding the blade she threw her arms around him, pressed her lips against his and kissed him.

The Ultima Weapon fell on the ground.

His eyes went wide. Slowly she broke the kiss and backed away from him. She was afraid of his reaction, but something in her had forced her to do this. She looked at her feet, didn't dare to look at him. Slowly he moved again…

"… …. …" His eyes still were wide, and his gaze fell on her. "Ritz…?" This almost made her jump in pure happiness. She recognized his voice, his real voice. He had spoken her name, after all this time… Her name, spoken by him, it was a great feeling.

"Ritz…" He repeated, still visibly in shock. She felt his hand touching her cheek. She flinched. "It's…" He hesitated. "It's me… Ritz…" She looked up and stared in his eyes. The young fencer found herself smiling broadly. "It really is you, Marche, isn't it…?" When he nodded, a cry of joy escaped her lips as he threw herself in his arms again. Slowly and hesitating he put his arms around her too, unsure about what just had happened or what to do.

"I… I don't know what… what happened…" He whispered in her ear. "I was there but… But I couldn't stop hating you…" She smiled softly.

"It's okay… What matters is that you are back… The real you…" Marche slowly nodded. "I… I missed you so much Marche…" Ritz continued, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest. "And when you… When you just now said that you… that you hate me, I realized…" She kissed him again, but this time he wasn't shocked, this time Marche could enjoy the kiss too, feeling her happiness and her love. When she finally broke the kiss, Ritz finally dared to say what she had wanted to say to him for so long, even if she had only realized this now. "I realized that I love you Marche." He embraced her tightly, nodding.

"I know… I love you too… The real me…"

Time seemed to pass as they just stood there, in their embrace next to the warm fire. Ritz nor Marche dared to break apart from each other. But they didn't want to, either. Ritz was just too happy that she was in his arms, and Marche didn't really know what to feel. Relieved? Happy? His guess was that he was both. But eventually he backed away from her.

"We should get some sleep Ritz, we still have a mission tomorrow, after all."

The fencer simply nodded and took her blankets out of her backpack, so did Marche. He made his bed not far from the fire so he could still be warmed up by it, but far enough so sparks from the fire wouldn't set it afire. The tired Ultima Knight removed his heavy armour and laid it against the wall, before stretching himself and dusting his black clothes a bit of.

"Ehm, Marche…?" Ritz's voice was hesitant. He turned to look at her.

"Yes?"

"Could I…" She took a deep breath. "Could I sleep next to you, please…? I don't… I don't want to be alone tonight."

The question came unexpected, but Marche didn't show his surprise. He closed his eyes and after a while, he slowly nodded. "Sure thing, Ritz, if it makes you feel better."

"Thanks…"

They laid close to each other, Marche put his arm around Ritz, who rested her head on his chest. The fencer seemed deeply at peace. Marche caressed her shoulder slowly and a sigh escaped her lips.

"I still haven't forgiven you…" He remarked, but not on an unfriendly tone.

"I know…" she whispered. "But I can be with you again… You don't hate me anymore… And I can love you… For now, that's more than enough…" He ran through her hair with his right hand, but he didn't know where from he got the courage to do that. She didn't mind, though. "I'll earn your forgiveness Marche, I'll work hard to do so…." Then she lifted her head up again, to gaze in his eyes. Slowly she kissed him again. "I love you…." She nestled her head on his chest again and closed her eyes, the warmth of the fire making her drowsy.

She heard him whisper. "I know." Before she fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning Ritz woke up to find Marche already packing some stuff. Still sleepy, she human girl sat up and rubbed in her eyes.

"Good morning there." Marche smiled, his normal, kind smile. She blushed slightly.

"Good morning to you, too, Marche."

He had already gotten his armour on again and was now stuffing his blankets in his backpack. "Get some breakfast and then pack your stuff, it's time to kick some undead behinds." Ritz got up and stretched herself before getting some food out of her backpack. Once she had stuffed it through her throat and gulped some water, she put her blankets in her backpack and put her armour on. She took her Femme Fatale and attached it nicely to her belt.

"So, are you ready?"

"Always." She smiled. She had a feeling that today she would finally be able to get some fun out of an engagement again. No matter what enemy they would face today, she would be able to handle it. Her happiness for last night and having the real Marche back again would allow her to overcome anything. Excitedly she walked along with him through the snow towards Lutia Pass. Ritz was glad that she didn't have to keep her distance anymore and that the tension between them was very relaxed. Yes, finally things seemed right again. Or at the very least, much better. As they walked across the path they talked to each other about normal things. Ritz asked Marche about Mewt quite a bit, because in all her time in Ivalice, she hadn't met her classmate at all.

"He's quite changed now, you know." Marche remarked. "A lot more confident, really. Maybe we should pay him a visit one of these days."

"If we are allowed in the Palace." Ritz commented, her voice exited and happy. Her happiness really didn't know any boundaries now.

"Oh, that won't be much of a problem, I think. If we officially ask for an audience with the prince and Mewt gets to read it, we'll be allowed in for sure."

"I really wonder what he's like now. The way you've talked about him, I don't recognize the old Mewt at all."

"Well, he has grown, just like all of us." Marche shrugged.

"Not all of us…" Ritz corrected him. She bowed her head. "I haven't. I'm still stuck with my red hair."

Marche laid his hand comforting on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm used to seeing you with your red hair. So I'm not troubled by it. At least I know you don't want to run from the problem anymore."

She was about to say something, when he pushed her back slightly. He pointed into the distance. "Ritz, look!"

As she did, she saw three figures appear out of thin air. They looked like the vampires they sometimes encountered in the Jagds, but these still seemed far more human. Their eyes were cold and gazed into nothing. They moved still, didn't make even the slightest sound. Their skins were pale, almost white. They had been dead for quite some time it seemed, as their flesh had already rotten away at some places.

"It's them, no doubt." Ritz whispered.

"Yeah, no arguing about that… This has to be the work of a Necromancer!"

"Well, let's put an end to it, shall we?"

Marche nodded and took his Ultima Weapon of his back, Ritz unsheathed her Femme Fatale. As they approached the undead, the Judge Appeared as expected. The engagement had begun. "I know you're strong." Ritz whispered "But let me do some stuff too."

"Don't worry." He assured her "I will."

Then he ran towards the undead that was the most close to him. He swung his Ultima Weapon, but to his surprise the undead blocked it with little effort. Marche recovered from this surprise quickly, however and attacked again. As he expected the undead managed to block his attack again, but he had counted on that. He kicked it straight in the chest, sending it flying backwards. It tasted snow when it landed. Before it could get up, however, Marche already was on top of it and planted his Ultima Weapon straight through the undead's chest. The being roared in pain, but no blood flowed, and it wasn't KO'd either. Instead, it ripped the sword out of itself and delivered a hard punch on Marche's cheek, making him stagger sideward. He kept his balance, however, and was able to catch the next blow. The undead inhaled deeply and before Marche realized what it was doing, it already had used its poisonous breath.

"Ugh…" Marche fell on his knees, poisoned. And, judging from the burning feeling in his veins, he concluded it was a strong venom. "Blast…" The undead attacked again, scratching Marche on his only vulnerable spot: his face. Blood drops coloured the snow as Marche, weakened by the poison, was blown against the ground.

"Darn, these undead things are stronger than I thought…" He staggered upwards again, but the undead jumped on him, dragging him down. "Get lost!" Marche sneered, punching it in the face. But it didn't loose its grip.

"Fire Whip!"

The snakelike fires wrapped itself tightly around the nameless undead, making it loose its grip long enough for Marche to get free. "Nurse…" He breathed, removing the venom with his Chivalry skill. He nodded a thanks to Ritz, who resumed defending herself from the other two undeads. The other undead struggled to break free from the Fire Whip, but marche didn't waste another moment. "Finishing Touch!" Gently Marche touched the undead's forehead. An invisible force knocked the monster backwards with tremendous power. It crashed against a rock and remained lifeless. Marche knew it wasn't dead, he had just removed the Necromancer's influence. Now it was a harmless dead corpse again.

Meanwhile Ritz was busy fighting of the second undead. The third one regularly backed the second one up with some poisonous attacks, but she had managed to get out of the way when that happened. She wasn't as powerful as Marche, so she had a bit more difficulty when fighting this thing. She couldn't rely on just her sword skill. Regularly she used some Lunge Techniques to keep it at bay, but the undead just didn't seem to grow tired at all.

"Will this thing ever drop?" She had seen Marche struggling with his undead and had quickly cast Fire Whip, but now she had to focus on her own battle again.

"Piercethrough!" She hissed, sending a small wave on energy from the tip of her rapier. The undead growled as it hit straight in the chest, but kept approaching. It took some snow from the ground, breathed on it and the snowball turned into a bunch of poisoned Icy Spikes. With full force it swung this deadly thing at her, but her Reflex ability helped her dodge it with little to no effort. The undead approached again, and she saw the other one casting some sort of spell. "Unknown Flare!!!" She cursed and leaped forward, knocking the second undead into the snow. Just in time, cause the place she had just been standing on erupted in a bunch of blue and white flames, which normally would have drained her life force. She ignored the third one, who was now getting engaged by Marche and stabbed her Femme fatale straight through the undead's forehead. It groaned but didn't die. It slapped her away and she lost her grip on her rapier, leaving it stuck in the undead's forehead.

"Darn, this can be a problem…" She quickly chanted an elementalist spell. "Heavy dust!" A small rain of rocks bombarded the poor undead and immobilized it. Ritz chanted Fire Whip, but couldn't finish it because blue and white flames erupted around her, scorched her. She felt her health being drained, straight towards the undead. She collapsed from exhaustion and the lack of energy. As the second undead wanted to finish off the Fencer, somebody tapped on it's shoulder.

"It's cowardly to attack a fallen foe." Marche sighed, ripping the Femme Fatale from its forehead and tossing it to Ritz. The Fencer caught her blade. "Here, Ritz! Catch!" he tossed her an X-Potion, which she gladly gulped down. Her strength returned a bit. "Now!" Marche cried. "Finish it off!" He held the undead In a firm grip. The creature struggled wildly to get free, but to no avail. The other undead seemed to be recovering from a strong blow Marche had dealt it and was temporally out of combat. Ritz stood up and nodded. She jumped in the air, caught the Sun's energy and than threw her Femme Fatale towards the unlucky undead. Marche jumped out of the way just as the 'Finishing Move' made contact with the creature. The solar energy was too much for it. Screaming the creature fell, but when it landed on the ground it was already dead again.

The third undead got up just as Ritz retrieved her Femme Fatale.

"Ritz." Marche asked. "Do you have a Judge Point?"

"I do." She replied.

"Great, so do I." He ran towards the third undead. Ritz didn't really understand, why had he asked that?

"Marche!" She called "I don't get it! What are you trying-" he cut her of.

"Just trust me!" He cried. He attacked the third undead, which grudgingly blocked the attacks of the Ultima Weapon. But again Marche had counted on that. He striked the undead with his Ultima Weapon only in one hand. When the undead blocked that, Marche grabbed it with his free hand and swung it with all his might into the air.

"Ritz, now!" Marche firmly took his blade and used a Judge Point. Now Ritz finally understood. She was lucky to have mastered such a technique too. The human girl also used a Judge Point. She felt her stats quickly rise. As she saw Marche jump high into the air toward the undead, she followed him. Marche delivered the first strike, then she did. Then Marche struck it over the entire length of its back. Ritz delivered one last blow across the throat of the creature, before the effect of her Judge Point subsided. She landed and watched Marche finish the Combo they just had performed together. Marche appeared above the motionless undead and with a fatal blow straight on its skull, blew the creature into the ground, but it was already dead again before it even hit the snow. Marche landed and took a deep breath. He had underestimated this engagement. The judge declared victory to them and then disappeared.

As he put away his Ultima Weapon, Ritz turned to him, smiling broadly. "We won! This snowball fight is over, okay?"

He looked confused at her. Under his breath he muttered: "Snowball fight…?" Apparently she hadn't heard him, because she was already heading down the Path.

"Hey Marche! Aren't you coming?" He ran after her, wanting an explanation. He thought he knew what she had meant, but asking something never hurt anybody.

"Say Ritz." She turned to look at him. "Just now, you said 'Snowball Fight'. What did you mean?"

She bowed her head and thought for a moment. "Like I said… They were throwing snowballs and hurting people with them… That reminds you of somebody, doesn't it?"

The Ultima Knight nodded. "Mewt…"

"Right. I'm not saying those monsters were Lyle's bunch, mind you." She gazed down the Pass. "It's just, when I heard about that mission, I somehow knew that I had to take it. That you would have taken it, I really didn't expect. It was a nice surprise for me, of course, but still… The main reason was… Well, I don't know. I just had to."

"I… I wish I could have done the same thing back there." Marche stammered. She looked at him, but he avoided her gaze. "I mean, throwing snowballs back at the bullies…"

She walked up to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you could have done that. It would have been easy for you." She whispered softly.

"It never seemed easy, though." A sigh escaped his lips as he watched the now abandoned battlefield. "But I guess you're right…"

Ritz hesitatingly started to say something. She would have waited perhaps a little longer, but now seemed like the ideal time. "So, Marche, you want me to help out?"

He looked at her sideways. "Help out? With what?"

"With your clan of course!" She exclaimed. "I'm saying I'll join if you like." He did a step back, taken back by her sudden offer. "Eh… Well… Why all of the sudden? What about your clan?"

"Why not?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Shara and Elena will understand. No doubt they'll go back to our former clan." She glared at him with a hint of her former stubborn self. "Common, why not? I just thought it might be fun! Hey, if you have a problem with it, just let me know!"

Marche thought about this for a while, or at least it looked like he did. His mind was already set. "Sure." He finally replied, smiling broadly. "I wouldn't mind letting you in!"

"With we on your team, no way you can loose!" She grinned.

Marched laughed loudly. "Ah ha ha. You're right. Welcome aboard, Ritz."  
The Fencer had a content smile on her face. It was like a dream had come true. Now that she was one of his clan members, she could really work on earning his forgiveness. And of course, like she had said, it would be fun, too. Especially if the engagements would be like today. A part of her was sad to leave Shara and Elena behind, but her Viera companions would understand, she was certain of it. Besides, something told her she would be seeing the two soon enough. With a new future ahead of her and the one she loved being himself again and loving her too, she smilingly followed Marche as they left Lutia Pass behind and headed for Sprohm.

---

Well, I know what you all think. "Hey, isn't Marche turned back to himself a bit too easy?" Well, maybe. But of course, anybody can tell that this is not the end. All I can say is keep coming back when there are new chapters, then you'll know what will happen.

Hope the chapter was long enough. I enjoyed writing it. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it, too.


	12. Chapter 12: New Future

New chapter, enjoy! I think the epic is now about a third done. I'm guessing in total, there will be around 30 chapters, can be a bit less, can be a bit more.

**12. New Future**

Marche opened the door of Sprohm's pub. Inside he saw, as he kind of had expected, his clan members already back from their mission. No wonder, he had been away for four days. As he entered, Ritz followed him. Montblanc didn't really believe what he saw, Marche and Ritz, together, and they didn't seem angry at each other at all! Ritz nodded at Marche, then moved to the bar and ordered a drink.

"Marche, kupo! You're back!" Montblanc exclaimed as he rushed towards his friend, Seth and Ardaun followed to greet him as well.

"Hi guys. I have an announcement to make, is everybody here?" When Montblanc nodded, Marche raised his voice. "Okay clan Marche, gather around, I have some important news!"

Aloud wondering what Marche would have to say, they all sat down at the table he was standing at. "Unexpectedly, I accepted a mission four days ago to clean Lutia Pass from some undead creatures, awoken by possible a Necromancer." A shiver went through the clan as they heard the word 'Necromancer'. "I was accompanied by whitey-locks on that mission, she insisted and because of some personal meaning behind the mission I let her. However…" Everybody fell silent. "During that mission I was aided by somebody whom I gladly accepted into our clan. She's a skilled Fencer and a master Elementalist. And her name's Ritz Malheur."

Jaws dropped on the table, but Marche ignored it. He mentioned Ritz to come over. She did and nodded to the clan, then to Marche. "This is our new clan member, I trust you guys to make her feel at home and a perfect member of our group." He smiled at Ritz. "You want to say anything to them?"

Ritz thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know… I hope my presence won't be minded. I'm honoured to be a part of your clan now, Marche. But I will miss Shara and Elena."

Montblanc hopped on the table and patted her shoulder. "We'll make you feel right at home, kupo!"

"Thanks Montblanc…" Then followed a load of congratulations and welcoming to Ritz, it overwhelmed the Fencer a bit, but mostly the clan members were nice to her.

"Name'ss Sseth, sseemss you and Marche made peace, huh?" He greeted her.

"Yes, you could say that. I'm happy to have the old Marche back."

"So do I!" Ardaun bumped in, pushing Seth playfully away. "I'm Ardaun, the clan's Ninja and Thief. And unofficial playful rival of Seth."

"Indeed." Seth hissed, punching Ardaun away. "And an annoying talkative fellow on top of that." The Bangaa smiled broadly as Ardaun barely kept his balance.

"You'll pay for that, scale-hide!"

"Oh yeah?" Seth scoffed "Then let's take it outside!" They nodded to each other and left the pub. Confused Ritz turned to Marche, who simply laughed. "You'll get used to their quarrels. They are best palls, but sometimes they just need to duke it out, only to come back in leaning against each other and Devianor needing to heal them." Then he turned to the pub master. "Say pub master, since this is kind of a special occasion, drinks for the entire pub!" Now the enthusiasm of Clan Marche passed over to the entire pub. Anybody who stood outside would have thought a hunter had used ten sonic booms at once, cause the cheer that erupted from the people was incredibly loud. Montblanc squeezed himself through the crowd towards Marche and Ritz, who sat together, enjoying their drinks.

"So, kupo… What happened, kupo? You really seem different, Marche."

Marche smiled at his friend. "Not much happened, Montblanc. Just that I am Marche again. The real Marche." Marche nodded, satisfied.

"It's good that you are you again, kupo."

"I agree." Marche replied. "And I hope that it won't change anymore."

Just then, Ritz stood up from her chair, and walked outside. Montblanc wanted to call her, but Marche stopped him. "Don't, Montblanc. I know where she's heading. She has to do this."

---

Ritz had seen the two Viera. She had hurried outside and strode past a still fighting Ardaun and Seth, trying to catch up with the two Viera she had seen. It was a bit hard because of the crowded streets, but eventually she popped up between Shara and Elena.

"Ritz!" Shara cried, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest. The Sniper calmed herself down quickly. "So how did it go?"

"Well…" Ritz hesitated. How did she have to tell this? She so liked Shara and Elena, she had so enjoyed the days she had spend with these two members of the clan she had been a part of. "Can we co somewhere quiet, please?"

"Sure." Elena replied "Let's get out of town."

As they walked out of town, Ritz told them the details about the mission itself, but not about the events between Marche and herself. When she finally got to that subject, she sank down on a fallen tree trunk, away from the crowded streets of Sprohm.

"So you actually managed to get through to him?" Elena gasped, surprised at this fact. "Amazing!"

"Yes." Ritz nodded. "But it was close. If I had hesitated one more second when I kissed him, I wouldn't be here telling you all this now."

"Which means he nearly killed you again and-" Shara stopped, suddenly realizing what Ritz had said. "You serious? You _kissed_ him?!"

"I did…" Ritz felt her cheeks burning red. "And when I did that he snapped back to reality."

"And… Did you tell him… your feelings?"

Ritz nodded slowly, blushing more and more. "He even returned my feelings…"

Elena jumped with joy. "Ritz, that's great news! This means it's over, right?"

"Yeah…" The Fencer agreed "And… There's more over than I've told you two…" She sighed deeply. Now came the hardest part. "I have… I have joined his clan…" She waited for Elena furious: "WHAT???", only it never came. Hesitatingly Ritz looked up to the two Viera.

"You're not angry?" She finally dared to ask, after a long silence.

"Why would we be?" Shara asked, sitting down next to her. "I mean, we've expected this since the beginning of all this, Ritz. It was inevitable, really."

"Well, I guess it was…" Ritz bit her lip. "But I still feel bad about leaving you two behind. I had so much fun with you girls, I really feel bad about leaving."

"Don't worry about us." Elena assured her. "We'll do fine without you. And you'll do fine in his clan."

"But where will you go?" Ritz asked. "Back to our old clan?"

Shara shook her head. "Some of them already joined other clans. No, we'll do things on our own. But we'll always be there Ritz, to get to your aid whenever you need to."

"Yeah, if lover boy ever mistreats you, don't hesitate to give a call!" Ritz sighed, deeply relieved it all turned out like this. She pulled the two Viera into a tight embrace. "What would I have done without you two?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing." Elena groaned. "Now let me go, I'm not getting any air!" The Fencer burst out into laughing, joined soon by her two forever friends. And later, Ritz waved at them as they left her, and they waved back. She watched them go to unknown horizons, but in her heart Ritz knew she would always be able to see them. Wiping a tear away, she turned around and walked back to Sprohm. Marche was waiting for her at the outskirts of the town, not saying anything, but she knew he understood. Together they went to their clan, to her new future.

---

"Okay guys, we've been laying still long enough! Time to get our clan back into gear!" Marche gathered everyone around at the largest table in Sprohm's pub. A few days had passed since Ritz had joined, but the clan had taken what one might call a little vacation. Now Marche had decided that it was time to get to work again. When everybody had settled down, Marche began his talk. "Well, I think that since everything is back to normal in our happy little family, we can finally start doing classic clan stuff again!" Everybody started muttering things excitedly, but Marche raised his hand to silence them. "So that means we'll do some missions again! And you can count on it that we'll make all of Ivalice realize that clan Marche is back in actions!"

"Yeah!"

"Thanks for the encouragement Ardaun." Marche smirked. Seth slapped his Ninja friend playfully on the head. Ritz could hear him mutter something like 'Ow! Watch out with those claws!', but Marche continued talking. "So here I have the current list of all mission available." He quickly scanned the list again. "Apparently, there was a Viera killed in Muscadet…" His tone hardened a bit. "With a knife. They ask volunteers to help looking for the murderer. Anybody willing? I'll need two people."

Majorie, the first Viera of Marche's clan raised her hand, as Marche had expected. As did Zeran, clan Marche's gunner. "Okay, Marche nodded. Majorie and Zeran, you'll go to Muscadet. See if you can help them there."

"Okay, Devianor, if you don't mind, I would like to send you on another dispatch mission."

"As long as it doesn't mean I'll have to find a lost book again, I'm fine with it." The Wise Nu Mou grinned.

"It's not, this time they'll need you to find some crystallized wind in the desert of Eluut."

"Sounds interesting, I'm on it." He leaned to Seth. "Always nice to tell the poor mission-posters to not always believe what they hear." The Bangaa barely could keep silent.

"Me, Ritz, Montblanc, Ardaun and Seth, we're going after Swamp king Kanan in Uladon Bog. Wanted missions always offer some good gil." Marche looked from face to face. "Okay, that will be it. Everybody, get your stuff. Everybody should be gone within an hour."

In less than five seconds the table was empty.

Uladon Bog would be to far to travel on foot, Marche had realised that. So this time, they did hire Chocobos. That would cut down the travelling town by half.

"At this speed." Marche said, as they sped over the fields of Ivalice. "We'll be there in a day or three."

"Great." Ritz smiled, she was riding next to him. "Hopefully the bandits will still be there when we get there."

"Probably, Kupo." Montblanc nodded. Given the small size of moogles, Montblanc sat behind Marche on the same Chocobo. The Chocobo didn't really mind, Montblanc was light as a feather anyway. "Bandits these days grow more nerdy and nerdy. They probably think they'll be safe in their current hiding spot, just like those Materite Swindlers."

"Well, I hope you're right." The Fencer shrugged. "I would hate it if we made this entire trip for nothing."

"I don't complain." Marche commented softly. "Crossing Ivalice on Chocoboback, I always found that fun. So even if this trip would be for nothing, I still enjoyed it."

---

"Alright Swamp king Kanan, you're going down!" Marche sneered as he wiped away the small drop of blood from the little scratch the Paladin had given him by surprise. Marche swung his Ultima Weapon with amazing speed, but Kanan's Lohengrin blocked it. The Paladin was a good swordsman, Marche admitted, but he would still win this battle. Marche hadn't even used his Ultima Knight skill yet. As he continued his duel with Kanan, his eyes shot looks to his fellow clan members.

Ritz was taking out a Templar, Montblanc was duelling with a Time Mage and Seth and Ardaun had engaged a gladiator and a juggler. They were doing fine, he could see. The Templar had trouble to keep up with Ritz, the Time Mage was on the run from Montblanc. Only between the Gladiator and Seth it was not clear who had the upper hand. Ardaun used one of his Veils to immobilize the Juggler, than KO'd him with two quick strikes of his Masamune's.

"Well, if they are nearly done, I should finish this as well!" Marche made a huge swing with his sword, making Kanan jump out of the way. Marche released a Shock attack, which Karan dodged narrowly. Marche lunged again at his sword collided with Kanan's. Each tried to push the other away. Eventually Marche did an unexpected step backwards, making Kanan tumble forward. The swamp king lost his balance and fell in the muddy ground. When he groaningly got up, he felt a gentle touch on his forehead, before being blown away with unseen force. He landed in the water, which broke his fall, and was KO'd. Marche received a Judge Point, and he stored the precious energy star safely in his pocket. Content with his victory, he put his Ultima Weapon on his back, breathing deeply. He observed the others.

Ritz darted out of the way of the Templar's lance, striking on it and making him drop it. Unarmed, the Bangaa tried to punch her, but she ducked and blew him in the mud with Piercethrough. Before he could get up, she KO'd him with Nighthawk. Marche smiled. Yes, she was a great addition to the clan. Her fencer skills were unsurpassed. The very fact that she was in his clan and could fight at his side seemed to make her an even better fighter.

Montblanc used dodged a stop spell from the Time Mage, and with his return-magic reflexes, cast the spell back at the Time Mage, who couldn't dodge and was frozen in time. Montblanc then finished it with a powerful Thundaga spell. The young moogle mage had definitely increased the power and accuracy of his spells. The training Marche had put his clan through really had helped. Almost every spell Montblanc cast hit. Only very skilled mages like he himself was, were able to deliver a serious challenge to him.

Seth and Ardaun both used a Judge Point to perform a combination attack, which took out the Gladiator. Those two were really great partners. Yeah, they liked to play pranks on each other and each of them wanted to show the other who was better, but if needed they teamed up and took out any challenge that was to difficult for one of them alone. They weren't as powerful as Montblanc or Marche, or even Ritz, who hadn't received the rough training, but the teamwork they could pull off more then made up for that.

The engagement was over. The Judge took Kanan and his band of wanted criminals to the Prison in Sprohm.

"Well, that went nicely." Marche commented. "Well done all of you."

"You did nice yourself, too, Marche." Ritz smiled to him. "You really made Kanan taste dirt."

"Better yet." Ardaun grinned. "Mud."

"Gee…" Marche blushed slightly and shrugged. The others laughed at Marche's embarrassed expression.

"Okay!" Marche raised his voice. "Enough laughing. To your Chocobos you all! Let's head back to Sprohm!"

They nodded and had just turned around, when they heard something drop behind them.

"Marche Radiuju?" An unknown, yet not unfriendly, young voice asked. Slowly Marche turned around. On the bridge over the river stood a young person, fully covered in a set of impressive armour.

"I am. Who are you?" Marche demanded, doing a step in the direction of the warrior.

"I am Gilgamesj, travelling Genji Knight." The young warrior introduced himself. He was no older than Marche. Only now Marche noticed that the armour Gilgamesj wore was a full set of Genji armour. Never before had Marche seen an entire set of this rare, quality armour. How Gilgamesj had obtained it, Marche could only guess, but it must have been hard.

"I have heard about you, Ultima Knight." Gilgamesj continued. "And I've come to fight you, so I can judge if you are indeed as powerful as people say."

---

Yay! New chapter, new character! To those worried that I can't come up with anything good now to make the story continue, don't worry, I've planned this epic far beyond Marche's first comeback. Just wait and see, it'll get good (I hope) soon enough.

And if I haven't gotten Swamp king Kanan's clan right, hey, I can't remember every exact detail from the game! I'm still human after all.


	13. Chapter 13: Gilgamesj

A new chapter! A bit shorter than 11 and 12, but still long enough (I hope). Anyway, enjoy.

**13. Gilgamesj**

Marche slowly did a step backwards. "And if I don't want to fight?" He questioned. Gilgamesj simply shrugged. "I'll leave you no choice." The young warriors eyed Marche carefully. "All I want is a fair engagement, one on one. Nothing more, nothing less."

The Ultima Knight bit his lip, thinking. He looked in Gilgamesj's eyes. They seemed friendly enough. Slowly Marche nodded and pulled his Ultima Weapon of his back.

"Marche…" Ritz touched his arm, trying to make him reconsider. "Are you sure about this?"

Her clan leader nodded. "If it is a fair fight he wants, it is a fair fight he can get."

Marche walked on the bridge and faced Gilgamesj. He readied his blade and nodded. Marche couldn't see Gilgamesj's face besides his eyes, but the could feel that the warriors smiled. Gilgamesj reached for his own sword, dangling in its sheath on his belt. As he slowly drew it, the sunlight fell on the shimmering sword, nearly blinding Marche with its reflection. It was a long, powerful looking knight sword, and Marche first thought of the very rare and powerful Excalibur. But it wasn't the same blade. The blade was so shimmering white and pure and the handle was made of gold, decorated with small, blue diamonds. It looked brand new and incredibly sharp and precise. It was then Marche realized which blade this was.

"Excalibur II…" He gasped. Gilgamesj nodded with a weak smile.

"But, it is only fair, is it not, Ultima Knight? One legendary weapon versus another. Let us see which of the two shall prevail."

Marche shook his head. "The real power of the blade lies in its wielder."

"True." Gilgamesj now also readied his sword. Both stood ready. The judge appeared and then the engagement began.

Immediately the two warriors dashed towards each other, colliding with huge, coming from their blades. Marche swung his Ultima Weapon, only to find it blocked by Excalibur II. That didn't discourage him, however, as he stroke again and again. Gilgamesj kept up perfectly with Marche's assault, for now just defending himself. Marche was powerful, but Gilgamesj had his agility as an advantage. He lashed out with Excalibur, aiming straight at Marche's side. Thanks to his quick reflexes, Marche stepped aside just in time, trying to knock Gilgamesj on his back. The Genji Knight did a back flip over Marche, however, dodging the attack. Excalibur II came dangerously close to Marche's head, but the Ultima Knight raised his weapon just in time.

"So far, you're not too shabby." Gilgamesj commented.

"I'm warming up." Marche retorted.

"Good. That's what I hoped." The Genji Knight smiled weakly again. "But then again, so am I."

They both did a back flip and readied their swords again, eying each other carefully. Marche's fellow clan members held their breath as they watched the fight breathlessly. As on a signal, Gilgamesj and Marche sprang towards each other again. Before they could hit again, however, Gilgamesj stopped and jumped in the air. "Saint Cross!" A ring of Holy Light surrounded Marche, and then the holy energy erupted. Marche came out of the blinding light nearly unharmed, however.

"Climhazzard!" He swung his charged blade at Gilgamesj, who narrowly dodged. Gilgamesj trussed forward with his sword again, but Marche blocked the attack. The Genji Knight jump backwards to get in a less dangerous position. The Ultima Knight in the meantime charged his blade and unleashed his destructive Shock at Gilgamesj. To Marche's amazement, the young warrior caught the shattering energy with his blade and managed to literally throw it away. The Shock attack landed against some rocks in the river, completely ruining them. Marche clenched his jaw and dashed at Gilgamesj again. Marche had to admit, that this Gilgamesj was a serious challenge. He hadn't really expected the warrior, barely older then him, to be this good. That didn't change anything to the fact that he would win, however. Marche actually began to enjoy this engagement. It had been a while since he had to use so much of his skills and powers in a fight. And Gilgamesj kept his word, he fought fair.

"Warmed up yet?" Gilgamesj taunted as he avoided a powerful swing of the Ultima Weapon. Marche grinned softly. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh, I'm starting to have fun." Gilgamesj replied, making Marche smirk. Their swords collided again. The Genji Knight was good. Very good. But Marche wasn't planning to loose. He unleashed a shock attack at Gilgamesj, who managed to swing it away again. When Gilgamesj looked up again, Marche was gone. His reflexes told him that very moment, to jump forward. Lucky for him he listened to his reflexes, for a second later Marche unleashed his Climhazzard on the place Gilgamesj had been standing. The force of the attack caused the ground to shake violently, throwing Gilgamesj of balance. Marche immediately jumped at the fallen knight. "Finishing Touch!" The Ultima Weapon almost touched the Genji Knight, but Gilgamesj brought up his Excalibur II and, to the amazement of everyone, blocked the attack. It became a tremendous power struggle, as the Ultima Weapon wanted to unleash all its stored energy for the touch, making it difficult for even Marche to handle. Gilgamesj had trouble keeping the charged blade off him as well. The energy began to flow of the Ultima Weapon, causing destruction to everything it touched. Marche had no choice; he would kill himself if he continued this. He did a back flip and touch a harmless stone instead, releasing all of the destructive energy stored is his blade. He breathed heavily, never before had anybody managed to hold of his Finishing Touch. He looked at Gilgamesj, still laying on the ground, with amazement. The young one had to posses a lot of power to do what he just had done.

Marche readied his sword again when Gilgamesj stood up again, but the Genji Knight shook his head. It looked like he was in a world of pain.

"No," he panted, looking at the Judge "I admit defeat." The Judge nodded, granted Marche a valuable Judge Point and then disappeared. The fight was over. Marche sighed relieved. He wasn't really sure if he could have continued this fight much longer. His muscles were protesting already. He put his Ultima Weapon on his back and went to Gilgamesj, who sheathed his Excalibur II as well.

"I'm glad to have been defeated." Gilgamesj said. "For now I know Ivalice has a very powerful ally in you, Marche Radiuju."

Marche looked rather confused. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"This country is threatened by many." Gilgamesj said, in a whispering, dark voice. "And not only this country." He looked briefly at Ritz, then at Marche. "All I'm saying is that you have to watch out, and be prepared to go all out to protect what you hold dear."

"Are any of my friends in danger?!" Marche demanded, taking a step towards the young warrior. Gilgamesj simply shrugged. He gazed of in the distance, then at Marche again.

"I don't know. I'm simply warning you."

Then the Genji Knight turned around and walked away. He jumped on his armoured chocobo, which had been standing patiently at the riverside, and rode away under the hot midday sun. Marche's gaze followed him, until Gilgamesj was out of sight. Ritz came up to him, gently laying her hand on his shoulder.

"That was an impressive fight." She commented softly. He didn't immediately respond. Something bothered him. "I have the feeling that I know him." He finally stated. The fencer gave him a curious look. "Gilgamesj? You sure?" Marche nodded.

"I can't really place him… But I can't shake of the feeling that I have met him somewhere…" Then he turned towards her and his fellow clan members. "Ah well, let us go back to Sprohm."

They nodded and went towards their chocobos. Marche glanced to the bridge where he had fought one more time. Gilgamesj had warned him. For what? It didn't really make sense at all, but something inside him told Marche to heed the warning.

---

"Impressive fight indeed." The leader of the three said, leaning back against the trunk of the three. "It appears that somebody has been spying on us, else he wouldn't warn mister Ultima Knight."

"Does that change… anything?" the second figure asked. The first one simply chuckled and shook his head. He scratched his claws against the trunk in a beastly manner. A shiver ran down the spine of the other two persons.

"Nothing changes. One more step. Just one more, and we'll finally be able to start." A sly grin spread on his face. The figure let himself drop gracefully from the tree branch he had been sitting on. "It may be day." He said to the other two. "But it is useless to wait. You both are just as hungry as I am, no?"

The other two simply nodded. They were afraid of him. Him, the unofficial leader of the three of them. His powers were terrifying. His personality twisted. His mind was clouded by his dark desires. A desire that kept him going, no matter what. He was a Necromancer, just like the two of them. But he was also far more. He was the only one they could count on, thus they stayed with him. But if they had a choice, they'd probably run. And run fast. They desired the same as he did, but he was far more twisted and unpredictable, far more evil then they ever could hope to be, no matter how much they desired to be like that.

"So they are going to Sprohm, huh?" the Necromancer smirked darkly. He licked his lips with bloodlust. "One more step. Just one more, and then you're going to wish that you were never born, whitey-locks. I'll rip every little piece of happiness, every little bit of desire to live… I'll rip it from your body, with pleasure."

"Leave some for us…" The third Necromancer hissed, speaking for the first time. The leader turned to him, but he didn't flinch.

"Do not worry… Ripping that all from her will be but the beginning. And then I'm even gentle. It'll be worse… A lot worse… And you both are allowed to share in this joy." He shivered with delight. "Ah, I can't wait… I've been desiring this, since the very beginning of our nightmare. It is what kept me alive, undead and monstrous as I am…" He walked through the river, the sun hurt him, but he did not care. "And they'll pay for my, for our, suffering…" The other two followed him. For this they had in common with him: His desire, his lust for vengeance.

---

After a few days of travelling Marche and his group arrived back in Sprohm. It was already evening then, they weren't really in a hurry when they came back from the mission in Uladon Bog. The pub was a little less crowded than usual, and Ritz was thankful for that. She was tired. Devianor was already back from his dispatch mission as well. Only Majorie and Zeran had yet to come back from Muscadet. Marche and the others were going to drink something in the pub before going to sleep. Ritz however, excused herself and went to sleep.

"You do look tired. Sleep as long as you like till tomorrow, Ritz." Marche smiled at her. She thanked him and smiled back, then went upstairs into her room. Once there she threw her armours of and laid her Femme Fatal on a chair, Ritz walked to the open window and gazed into the night sky. It was brilliant as always, with thousands of spars sparkling brightly. It was made even more beautiful because of the moon, which shone brightly tonight. The moonlight fell on her red locks and made them shine silver. The Fencer sighed depressed. It had been such a fun mission. She already felt part of the clan. But Gilgamesj bothered her. When he said that things were threatened, he had looked at her. Briefly, but she had noticed. The Genji Knight had warned Marche, to watch out for his friends. Was she in danger? Could Gilgamesj actually be trusted? Marche had a feeling that he knew the young warrior… It was all a bit much for her. She wished Shara was here, she could have explained all her doubt and fears to her Viera friend. But she couldn't express those to anybody here. She didn't knew the clan well enough yet, and she didn't want to look weak to Marche. Ritz clenched her jaw. She just had to be strong! Cursing her own weakness, she fell down on her bed, pulled the sheets over her and went to sleep.

But her dreams would be dark ones. There was nothing pleasant about nightmares. Nightmares in which claws ripped through her flesh and a haunting voice torturing her soul.

"_You'll pay, whitey-locks!!! You'll all three pay!!!" _

She screamed and woke up, sitting up with a start. She was breathing heavily, her body bathed in cold sweat. Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest. She never had a nightmare like this one before. Never this horrible. She touched her chest, but there was nothing but sweat. No scars, no wounds, no blood. She laid on her back again, still panting. This was all too much to be just coincidence. Gilgamesj's warning, him looking at her, this nightmare…

Somebody wanted to kill her.

---

And this was chapter 13. Hope you liked it, more will follow. I'm happy that I finally get closer to (in my eyes) the most exiting part of this fanfic. So stick around, the truth and answers will surface soon enough.


	14. Chapter 14: Fatal Mistake

A new chapter. Don't have much to say, except: Enjoy!

**14. Fatal Mistake**

The next morning Ritz woke up after a rough night. She never had slept this bad before. After she had woken up because of her terrible nightmare, she didn't really dare to go and sleep again. So she lay there awake for hours, staring at the ceiling, flinching at every little sound. Eventually fatigue won from her fear and she fell asleep, to tired to even dream.

As she got out of bed, washed herself a bit and put on her clothes and armour, she noticed that it had to be well in the morning already. The streets were already crowded as usual. She strapped her Femme Fatale to her belt. Taking a deep breath, the human girl opened the door of her room and went downstairs, acting like she was fine. Downstairs, Marche was sitting at a table, looking through the available missions. He noticed her and smiled.

"Good morning Ritz. Did you sleep well?"

"Sure." She lied, avoiding his gaze. She felt that he doubted her words.

"You sure?" he questioned, hiding his worries.

She looked up and smiled broadly. "Of course! You doubt me?"

He chuckled softly and shook his head, mentioning her to sit down and get some breakfast. She happily took a seat. While she was eating, she glanced at the mission papers.

"Anything interesting?"

He didn't immediately answer. "Well, the usual stuff." His eventual answer came. Silence reigned for a while. "I think I'll wait until everyone is back before I start picking new missions."

"Oh, Majorie and Zeran aren't back yet?"

"No, seems this murder in Muscadet appears to be more complicated to solve than at first glance."

"Oh boy, that means we'll have a boring day." Ritz sighed. Marche glanced at her and laughed.

"Now, now, I never said that." He was silent for a moment. "How about you and I go train together?"

Now, that was an offer that sparked her interest. "Ehm… Gee…" She scratched the back of her head. "I don't see why not."

"Great, that's settled then. After all, you still haven't gone under my harsh training that everybody else here got." He smirked with faked evil. She rolled her eyes. The Ultima Knight stood up and grabbed his Ultima Weapon. "I'll see you in the fields around Sprohm then. Within an hour, think you can make that?"

She looked at him with a 'duh!'-look on her face. Grinning, Marche left the pub, shaking his head in amusement. The fencer could only smile. At least Marche was still normal.

---

Gilgamesj flipped through a pile of papers, not caring where the ones he threw over his shoulder landed. He had to find something, no way that there was nothing about this subject in the archives of Cadoan's Library. The papers were old and normally should be treated with care, but the Genji Knight was in a great hurry. He seemed afraid. Groaning, he threw the pile of papers back where he had found them and took the next one.

"Where in Mateus' name are these documents?!" Papers flew everywhere as he searched. "Time is running out… I thought I warned him!" He clenched his jaw. "Why isn't he aware of anything?" Gilgamesj stopped and pondered for a moment. Finally he found the right document. He scanned is quickly. Yes, it seemed to be the correct one. He folded it carefully and put it in his inside pocket. Then he dashed out of the archives, almost knocking the keeper of the library, an old, wise Nu Mou, of his socks. "Sorry, I'm in a great hurry!" he apologized. "The Prince will pay for any damage done, I promise!" And with that, Gilgamesj rushed out of the library. He jumped on his chocobo and speeded away towards Sprohm.

It had been pure coincidence that he had overheard the talk of the three Necromancers. During his fight with the Ultima Knight, the Genji Knight had the creepy feeling that they were being watched. But he didn't want to worry Marche so he acted like nothing was going on. Later, after the fight and when Marche had left, Gilgamesj had silently ridden back to the bridge. He was a master of stealth; he had received some intense Ninja training after all. Nobody of Ivalice was allowed to find out his identity, after all. And it was because of his stealth that the three ghastly figures hadn't noticed him, carefully hidden in a bush. It was them. The Necromancers the Palace was so intensely searching for. He had found them. What shocked him most was their identity. A horrible truth that never had wanted to find out. Could he have taken them on? Perhaps. His trusty Excalibur II would no doubt deal great damage to their undead and monstrous flesh. But he didn't want to underestimate the power of the Necromancers. And at that moment, he was already supposed to be meeting up with somebody. It infuriated him that he had to let them go, but he had no time at that moment for a long battle. But at least… At least he knew where they were heading. He only needed one more thing from Cadoan, for himself, before he would rush to Sprohm and hopefully be in time to warn Marche. It was not Gilgamesj his duty to warn those Marche was responsible for, though it pained him dearly. But… He had restriction on his freedom. And those restrictions told him clearly, that he was only allowed to speak with the Ultima Knight, nobody else. At least, not yet.

And so, Gilgamesj the Genji Knight speeded towards Sprohm.

---

"Let's take a break." Marche suggested. He was breathing heavily, but had a content expression on his face. Ritz was catching her breath and weakly muttered. "Gladly." Before she fell on her back in the long grass. Marche sat down on a fallen tree trunk and laid his Ultima Weapon beside him. He and Ritz had been practicing for a while now. He had to admit, she was really good, and didn't really need training. But then again, that never had been his intention. He just wanted to get her mind off of whatever it was that was troubling her. She had acted like everything was alright, but the Ultima Knight had learned to see through that. Something was bothering her and she didn't have any intend to tell him. He was fine with that, but had decided that she needed some diversion.

"By Exodus, that was some rough stuff, Marche." Ritz groaned.

"What?" he grinned. "My Shock too much for you to dodge?"

"You didn't hit me one time!" She protested.

"Yes I did! I hit your leg, I know it!"

"Just a scratch!" She retorted, not willing to admit that he did indeed hit her. Marche burst out in amused laughter.

"You really are a tough one, no, Ritz Malheur?"

"So they say." Ritz smiled. She closed her eyes and relaxed. The training had tired her. No wonder, for the toughest training opponent she could ever have was the Ultima Knight. It became silent and Ritz just listened to the soft blowing of the wind, the birds singing. It was a plain normal, peaceful day in Ivalice. She didn't think about her nightmare. The peace was just too beautiful.

"Kupo, there you two are." Ritz perked up to see Montblanc coming towards them. Marche looked at his moogle friend.

"Hey Montblanc, what's up?"

"Majorie and Zeran are back from Muscadet, kupo!" The black mage replied. "They are waiting in the pub, kupo."

"Finally." Marche sighed relieved and grabbed his sword, putting it on his back. "Ritz, you coming?"

Ritz jumped up and brushed herself of. After sheathing her Femme Fatale, she looked at Marche with another 'Duh!'-look. Marche smiled weakly and then the three of them went back to Sprohm.

"So the murderers were Tonberries?" Ritz shivered when Majorie nodded. She knew those knife-wielding monsters. They belonged to the most feared monsters in all of Ivalice. They were rare, and actually, the only time they were seen was in Jagd. Curious that they now appeared in a public place as Muscadet. "Together with the Muscadet Town Watch we took care of them." Majorie continued. "Zeran was great, clan leader. He had a clear shot, he never missed! And that was the most powerful Fire Shot I ever saw." Marche smiled approvingly at Zeran and Montblanc patted his fellow moogle on the back. "Kupo work, kupo."

"What bothers me though." Ardaun said once Majorie was done telling. "Is that things like Tonberries would appear so far from Jagd. Hello, people! _Tonberries_!"

"We're not deaf, Ardaun." Marche silenced him. "Jagd Creatures like Tonberries don't belong in crowded cities. Somebody lured them there."

"Like who, Marche?" Ritz asked. She had a bad feeling about this…

"Like something that could wake up dead people and make them attack travellers, like say… Lutia Pass?" Marche's response came. A shiver went through the clan.

"Necromancerss…" Seth whispered. Marche nodded.

"I've been asking around a bit." Marche explained. "Seems like the Palace is furiously searching all over Ivalice for three Necromancers. They are becoming a danger. Like Lutia Pass, or Muscadet. Who knows what they did more?"

"Please don't tell me we're going to look for them, kupo." Montblanc pleaded. Marche glanced at his friend and then, to everybody's relief, he shook his head.

"No, I won't put us in such a big danger. This is something the Palace needs to take care of."

Everybody sighed with relief. They would do everything for their clan leader, but going after a Necromancer was suicide, even with an Ultima Knight at their side.

"Marche." Ritz suddenly asked. Everybody looked at her. "What about, you know… Gilgamesj?"

"Well, I've asked around about him as well." He assured her. "He didn't show up until recently and is widely believed to be from a far away country. Seems logical, because of his Genji set. Those things aren't made in Ivalice."

"I wonder what he's doing here, though." The human fencer sighed. Marche gave her an assuring look.

"Don't worry, he's not on the Palace's wanted list, and they do know about him. And honestly, I don't believe he's a danger, either." Marche bit his lip. "His eyes were far too honest for that."

"Well, I trust Clan leader Marche." Majorie announced. "We all do, right?" A murmur of agreements rose from the clan. Marche blushed slightly, scratching the back of his head.

"Gee…" He blushed. "You're making me feel embarrassed again." Loud laughter erupted from the table. Marche was pleased that they had such faith in him, but on the other hand he worried greatly that he would one day be unable to live up to that trust.

---

A few days passed and nothing special happened. Life went like it always went in Ivalice. Clan members went away on missions and others came back. Marche's clan was really back in business. 'The older days of glory' as Ardaun overenthusiastic called them, were coming back. Sometimes Marche wondered if he had to restrict the amount of drinks Ardaun ordered in the pub. Luckily he could count on Seth.

The Ultima Knight leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms. He took a sip from his drink and then bowed himself over his pile of mission papers again. Being a clan leader had its downsides too. Like, he was in charge of giving missions, which meant that he always could get one last. It could sometimes be annoying when there weren't many missions, but on other days, like today, it didn't really bother him.

"I'm ready to go Marche." A voice said. The clan leader glanced at Ritz. It would be the first time that she was sent on a Dispatch mission.

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to go?" he asked, for like the eighteenth time. The fencer nodded, sure of herself.

"Of course Marche. We have to help this clan, and who better to send that the second best swordfighter of our clan?"

Marche sighed but nodded. She was right. "Okay then, I can't stop you, anyway. Good luck and get back as soon as you can, please…"

"Can't live without me?" she grinned.

"I'm serious Ritz." He looked straight in her emerald green eyes. She gazed back for a while, then gave him an assuring smile.

"Don't worry Marche. I have done this before." She laid her hand comforting on her shoulder, gave him one last nod and then left the pub. The Ultima Knight couldn't help but sigh. He really had a bad feeling about this. Oh, Ritz could handle dispatch missions as well as any other clan member, he was sure of that. She could help out those who were in mortal danger as well. It was just… Shaking his head, he looked at the mission description again.

_Honour Lost_

_Some shady characters are after our leader, Kerry! Can you help? Please don't let anyone know we hired you._

_Ed, Assistant Leader_

Normally, Marche wouldn't be suspicious at all with a mission description. However, this time it was different. It was the 'shady' that bothered him. It could be nothing, but… Annoyed Marche slammed his fist on the table. If anybody else but Ritz would have gone to do the job, he wouldn't be worried. But it was just because it was Ritz, that he was so worried.

"Why did you want to go?" he whispered. "Whatever bothered you two days ago, Ritz, I'm sure it still bothers you. Don't act tough when you feel afraid…" He shook his head for the again.

---

"In the Totema's name, I'm late." Gilgamesj cursed. He rushed through the streets of Sprohm towards the most well known pub. He cursed himself. Why did they have to speak to him so urgent, anyway? There were lives at stake here! But, he had to go. He had no other choice, there was a strict law placed on him, anyway. So he couldn't sneak of if he wanted to. Once called, he had to go. For once he wished he had had one of those famous antilaws. That way he might have avoided the restricting law placed on him. And that would have spared him one day to get to Sprohm. He swore that as soon as he could go adventuring again he would visit Cadoan and meet up with the famous Ezel Berbier to ask if he could develop an antilaw for him. He didn't want to break the trust they had in him, but it would really come in handy for occasions like this. "If anything has happened, it will be my fault." Finally he arrived at his destination. Without even halting his chocobo he jumped of. The animal was smart enough to come to a halt by itself. Just as he wanted to kick open the door, it was already opened. And fate willed that it was by the one he was looking for: Marche Radiuju.

"Gilgamesj?!" Marche didn't seem really surprised.

"Where are the others? Where's Ritz Malheur? Are they alright ?" The questions came so quickly after each other that Marche raised his hand to silence the warrior.

"Calm down Genji Knight. What's going on?" Gilgamesj glanced around.

"Not here." He replied. "Not in public and certainly not in the door opening of a pub." Marche nodded. "In my room then, it's at the back of the pub, nobody from street can here us there."

"Okay, but hurry please!" Marche pulled him inside and mentioned the Genji Knight to follow him. They went up stairs. At the end of the hallway Marche kicked open the door of his room and went inside, followed by Gilgamesj. Marche checked outside the window, then the hallway, before locking the door. Then he turned to his unexpected guest.

"Okay Gilgamesj, what's going on?" The Genji Knight stood at the window, burning with haste and impatience.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"On mission, of course. That's what a clan does." Marche informed the young warrior. Marche crossed his arms. "You seem afraid. Well, I'll have you know, I'm too." Gilgamesj raised an eyebrow. "That's good." He finally said. "Why are you afraid, Marche Radiuju?"

"Not afraid of something, afraid something will happen." He started pacing around. "More specifically, with Ritz…"

"Ritz Malheur?" Gilgamesj turned away from the window. "What about her?"

"She…" He sighed and shook his head. Marche sank down on the chair next to his table. He couldn't finish his sentence.

"Marche." The Ultima Knight looked up as Gilgamesj only addressed him with his first name. "After our battle in Uladon Bog… I…" Gilgamesh hesitated, but Marche's worried look caused him to continue. "I overheard the three Necromancers." Marche's face turned pale. His hand immediately shot towards his Ultima Weapon. Gilgamesj raised his hand to calm him down. "I have nothing to do with them. I merely overheard them. Marche, they plan to kill Ritz. Where is she?!"  
Marche jumped up. "You only tell me this now? It's almost a week ago since our fight?!"

"I'm not free like you are!" Gilgamesj thundered. "I have restrictions, and may the Totema's forgive me, I could not come sooner! We need to warn her of this right now!"

"That will be hard, she's away on a mission since yesterday!" Marche shouted, not caring if anybody heard them. He was overwhelmed with concern. He should have known. He had felt that something had to go wrong. "I'm such an idiot!" He cursed, kicking his chair against the wall. "I knew my bad feeling was more than just a feeling. I should have stopped her."

"No." Gilgamesj sighed. "It is my fault. But we needn't waste any more time, Marche Radiuju! When did she leave? Where did she go to?"

"She left yesterday morning. Towards Cyril." He slapped his forehead and cursed himself again. He did his best to stay calm, but ultimately failed.

"Any chance I can still catch up with her?" The Genji Knight asked.

"I don't know…" Marche replied. "She's on foot. Cyril is a few days away from here. Maybe if you hurry with your chocobo."

Gilgamesj nodded, went back to the window. He was pleased to see that his smart Chocobo already stood there, waiting for him. Sometimes he wondered if that animal could read his mind. Then again, they were trained together. They understood each other better than anybody else.

"I'll hurry Marche, I promise. This evening you'll have news, I promise." He gave Marche one last glance. "Just know Marche Radiuju, they aren't only after Ritz." Then he just jumped through the window and landed straight in the saddle of his trusty steed and sped away, towards Cyril, leaving a worried Marche. The Ultima Knight suddenly couldn't handle his anger anymore. With one mighty slash he cleaved the table in half. He cursed himself, hated himself for not listening to his feeling and stopping Ritz. A familiar look shimmered in his eyes for a moment…

Gilgamesj kept word. A few hours before midnight, a homing pigeon arrived. While he had been waiting for that letter, he had immediately cancelled all the missions his clan had accepted and called everybody back to Sprohm. He kept cursing and cursing himself for making this mistake. He didn't sit still for an hour. He kept pacing back and forth, until the letter arrived. He ripped it open and quickly scanned the paper. The Ultima Knight fell back in a chair. The letter fell on the ground. Montblanc picked it up and read it. He gulped and looked at Marche, not knowing what to say.

_Haven't found her.  
Not in Cyril either.  
I return to Sprohm tomorrow._

_Gilgamesj_

---

Bad me, ending the chapter rather clifhanger-ish. I love being evil, though. But I wont let you all wait too long, so expect a new chapter within a few days.


	15. Chapter 15: Torture

Another update! (Didn't want to leave you guys in suspension for too long). A kind of dark chapter, IMHO. Nothing too horrifying, no gross descriptions or all that (It's still suitable for the 'T' rating, don't worry.). But, when you'll read it, I'm sure you can picture what's happening. If you're freaked out, please do NOT throw stuff at your computer screen cursing me for freaking you out, thank you.

**15. Torture**

She couldn't really remember what had happened. It had all happened so quickly. One moment nothing was going on, the next, she grabbed her throat, gasping for air. Like an invisible hand had tightened around her throat. She was unable to breath and had passed out because of that. But now, she was waking up again. Consciousness again came in her. And maybe, just maybe, she wished that she didn't wake up.  
Ritz groaned and opened her eyes. What just happened? It was dark, and for a small moment she thought she was blind. But then it appeared that the place she was in was just really, really dark. The only light came from two torches on the wall behind her. She was lying down on a cold stone table. It almost looked like an altar. She tried to move, but found out that she couldn't. A gasp escaped her lips. Her wrists and ankles each were chained to a corner of the table. "I'm captured…" She thought, shocked. And the, fear spread over her entire body, her entire soul. This was the place of her nightmare… She wriggled to get free, but to no avail.

"Ah…" The haunting voice, the same from her nightmare, broke the dark silence. The Fencer looked at the opening in the wall to the right of her, leading to a dark hallway. A weird-shaped, evil creature approached her, his blood red gaze fixed upon her. "The guest has awakened." It sounded more like a deep, pleased sigh then words, but she managed to understand him.

"The necromancer…" She gasped. The figure almost reached the light of the torches. She barely could see him nod.

"So you've heard of us… I'm not surprised…" A sly smirk spread over his face. "Not surprised at all… _Whitey-locks_."

Ritz's heart froze. She recognized that voice. The taunting way he spoke those last words. How he had spitted out that insult with delight. The monstrous Necromancer stepped into the light and Ritz turned pale.

The Necromancer looked monstrous. On the first glance he appeared pretty human. But once one noticed the claws at the end of his long fingers and toes, his vampire fangs, twisted eyes and huge pair of batwings sprouting from his shoulders, everything human was gone. The Necromancer was clothed in black, from his pants to his shirt. Over his shirt he wore some sort of scaly armour, like it was made of bones. Skulls covered his shoulders, and on those a long, black cape was attached. Bones and skulls dangled at his belt. Thick, dirty locks of golden hair dangled down his head, having nothing from their former beauty. His eyes were blood red, filled with so many negative emotions that it pained her to even look in them. His ears were long and pointed, and all over his body his skin was pale, almost white. His undead flesh was ice cold. He looked awfully much like a vampire.

The worst part, however, was that she knew him. And it pained her. "Lyle…" She whispered, every bit of her body and voice shaking with uncontrollable fear. He smiled weakly. A smile didn't fit his cold, dead face. It sent a shiver down her spine.

"So pleasant to know that I'm not ugly enough to be unrecognisable." His voice made her flinch. He came closer to her, his wings unfolding themselves, his grin widening.

"What… What ahs happened to you?" She dared to ask. A moment later she was screaming in pain as the claws of his right hand buried themselves in her side. Her face was twisted in pain. She looked from her side to Lyle. His eyes had something insane. He was enjoying this, she could see that.

"You dare to ask that?" he sneered icily. "You're the reason this happened to me! To us!"

She didn't understand. Lyle removed his claws from her side, and a red spot in her clothes grew rapidly. He gazed in another hallway, his eyes burning fiercely blue for a moment, like he was calling something, trying to make something obey him. "Come my followers, why keep our guest waiting?" Shuffled footsteps came from the hallway. Then the other two Necromancers came into the light. Ritz had partly expected it, but the view still shocked her. "Guinness and Colin…" Unlike Lyle, who was Monstrous but had something 'royal' and 'count-like' on him, the other two Necromancers were just monsters. Colin looked more like one of the zombies Ritz had encountered in Jagds than a human, and Guinness too, bore more resemblance to a skeleton than a human. Their gazes shot from Ritz to Lyle, and Ritz noticed that the other two Necromancers feared the Vampire. Yet, they had the same bloodlust in their blood red eyes as Lyle had. Ritz swallowed hard, trying to stay calm. The wounds of Lyle's claws began to hurt badly, and she wondered if his claws were poisonous.

"So, now that everybody has assembled, the time to finally ease my thirst has come…" he glanced at the other two, they flinched at his gaze, but approached the stone table. He glared at Ritz. "I've longed for this moment since the beginning, whitey-locks… I can barely believe it is finally here."

She glared back at him, but he was totally unimpressed. He could feel, almost taste, her fear. "Why?"

Guinness and Colin growled. Lyle touched her cheek with one of his claws. She tried not to turn away because of his touch.

"Don't play the fool, whitey-locks… You, New Kid and Teddy boy are responsible for this, we know that!" He scratched her face slowly. "You and those other two, you are responsible for our pain, our thirst, our looks… Thanks to you we are feared everywhere, can't show up in public without getting the law after us, can't stand in the sun without suffering… Do you have your fill of this?!" He paced around the table. "Oh, you must have thought it was the perfect vengeance…"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ritz shrieked. "It wasn't me who changed our world! Mewt did it!" Lyle raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?"

"It's true!" She retorted. "It's your own fault! If you hadn't picked on Mewt so much he-" She stopped abruptly, her face in pain as Lyle's claw dug in her other side. She almost screamed, but didn't want to give him that pleasure.

"Don't say it is our fault, whitey-locks." He hissed in her ear. "He had no right to do this, to take everything and then let us end up like this. And you and New Kid, you helped him."

"Not true! It-" She felt his claws go deeper.

"You may not have changed it…" The Necromancer continued. "But you did fight to keep everything like this, to keep us suffering." Finally he pulled back his claws, relieving Ritz a bit of the pain. "And New Kid… He was the first one we could track… However, it appeared he wanted to change the world, so he would be useful… That's why we never did anything to hinder him. Until recently, when he suddenly decided to help you two by keeping this world!" The last words came out with such anger and hate that Ritz wished she could cover her ears.

"Marche couldn't change the world back!" She cried, fear now almost fully engulfing her.

"Why not? You better explain or I'll rip the answer out of you!" The Vampire sneered. "And believe me when I say that I'd do that with pleasure!" His clawed hands moved towards her body again. "Why did New Kid decide to help you two? WHY?!"

"Because we never existed in St. Ivalice!" She spat out.

Silence.

Long silence. The Necromancers looked at each other, not believing their ears. Finally, the Vampire spoke again. "Do you dare to repeat that…?"

"We never existed there!" Ritz shouted. "Me, you, all of us! When the Grimoire changed the world, it actually changed our fates so we could fit in this world! This world is real! Always has been there, always will be!" She was getting desperate. They would kill her, she knew it. They would torture her, take out all of their aggression and desperation on her! She closed her eyes, trying to shake of that fear and that thought.

"You're lying!" He shouted, his eyes filled with animalistic rage, burning with bloodlust. He looked at Guinness and Colin, they had the same look as him. They didn't believe it either. Ritz didn't want to see what they would do, what would be next. They were so desperate that she almost pitied them. Almost. Guinness and Colin ripped all her clothes from her body, revealing her naked beauty. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but the Vampire could care less. He didn't care for her body, for her. He was blinded by his rage, his thirst for vengeance, and his bloodlust. Slowly he approached her. Desperately she wriggled to get free, but the chains around her wrists and ankles didn't loose their grip.

"Every ray of hope…" He hissed. "I'll rip from your body…" She closed her eyes, shaking her head. Never before had she been this terrified. Never.

"Every bit of will to live…" He licked his lips. "I'll tear from your soul."

Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Never before had she felt so humiliated, so scared. Lyle's dark figure loomed over, petrifying her with fear. In vain she tried to get free, to escape, to get away from him, his disgusting stench of death, his insanity. But the chains held her tightly and strongly, and Ritz could do nothing but undergo the pain as his claws ripped through her flesh, just like in her nightmare. The sound of her own screams tortured her even more. All her honour and all her pride were lost. But the Vampire was far from done with her. Every time he dug his claws much deeper, making her twist in her chains and scream even louder. There came no end to it. In the end she caught herself begging for mercy and she knew she couldn't sink any lower. Constantly she prayed for somebody to come and help her, Marche, anybody. But nobody came. She was left in the hands of her nightmare, her humiliation, her pain, her screams and the smell of her own blood.

---

Finally she dared to stir again. How long had it been? She couldn't tell. It had seemed like forever to her. Never ending hours of pain. She didn't know one could feel so much pain, that one could so desire to die. Lyle would be happy. He could be proud of himself, he had achieved his goal. All she wanted now was to die. But for some reason they had stopped after forever with torturing her and even had dried her wounds. Guinness and Colin had protested, they wanted to let her bleed to death, but after a small display of his powers Lyle had 'convinced' them. And so they had done as he commanded. They had tied her hands and feet, strapped thin ropes all over her naked body and then just thrown her in some empty room of the cave they were in. Now she was finally alone again. She finally dared to move. Not that she really could, they had tied her quite tightly, and painfully too. Everything they did to her seemed to include pain and suffering for her. It was very dark, only the light of one torch in the hallway reached her. She shivered, the stone floor was ice cold. In the little light, she tried to get a better look at herself. Her wounds, all over her body, had ceased bleeding thanks to her torturers, but that didn't lessen the pain. Her body seemed to be in shock by the sudden amount of damage it had received. She tried to use one of her healing spells she knew, but the pain made it very difficult for her to concentrate. Ritz tried to calm down a little, to relax just a tiny bit, but found that to be impossible. She couldn't call upon her Elementalist abilities. The pain just didn't allow it. Sniffing, she gave up, admitting defeat. Tears came running down her cheeks again. She stared at the rocky ceiling.

"Marche…" The words did nothing but fading away in the cold air of the cave. For the first time in her life, she really understood the meaning of being alone, the meaning of pain, the meaning of desperation and the meaning of hate…

---

This chapter has been in my mind since the beginning, and I'm glad I could write it without having to get too descriptive. So far this is my first and the only of my fanfics to include such a fanfic, so I'm kinda worried about the reactions on it. Still, like I said, it's the only chapter with scenes like this, so no worries for further chapters. On to chapter 16!


	16. Chapter 16: Nightmare

And here's the new chapter! Took longer than I wanted to get this one up. Anyway, enjoy.

**16. Nightmare**

Marche hadn't slept that night. He stayed awake and waited. Waited. And waited some more, like he was hoping that Ritz would show up, the Gilgamesj had just missed her on his way to Cyril. But when the morning sun came, the truth came crushing down on him. He sank down on a chair, tired and desperate. Montblanc had fallen asleep on the floor. The moogle hadn't wanted to leave Marche alone, but eventually the moogle mage had fallen into a deep sleep. Marche sprang up again and paced around for a while. He couldn't sit still, but moving worked on his nerves as well.

"It's all my fault." He cursed himself. "I should have stopped her, should have told her I knew, I should… I…" Suddenly his knees grew weak and he fell on the ground. Marche had fallen unconscious.

---

Marche fell on the ground. He groaned in pain. Slowly the Ultima Knight got up. A gasp escaped his lips. Everything around him was dark. Even the floor. There was no light to see where he was. If he even was somewhere.

"What happened?" He whispered, shivering. "Where am I?"

He did a step forward. Next to him, the darkness split to reveal a scenery. Marche gazed in awe. He recognized it. It was… The Cheetahs mission?

"What's this?" He asked to nobody, doing a step in the direction of the scene. He watched everything happening. Ritz confronting the clan, him running to her aid, the battle and… It pained him… What happened after it. Ritz's cold and distant words when it came to going back home. How he had tried to stop her, but she just walked away…

"Ritz…" The scene disappeared, leaving only darkness again.

As Marche walked further, he saw the other scenes in which he met Ritz. The S.O.S mission was right after the Cheetahs. Ritz had politely thanked him after it and then disappeared again. Marche's heart sank as he prepared for the next scene. The Golden Clocks. He didn't want to watch, really, but something forced him to. He saw it all unfolding, everything… And the aftermath… How he ran away crying, burning with hatred. "Sounds like something you would love to do!" The Marche in the scene screamed, tears running down his cheeks. Then he ran away into the desert. Marche watched. He saw how the he in the scene grew bitter, swearing he would get her for all of this. The scene faded away when a sick look appeared in the eyes of the Marche in the scene.

"Was that… Was that me?" Marche asked, not really daring to believe it. That… That Marche with all that hate, that was him? Had he really been like that…?

The next scene showed his nightmare: Ultima Weapon itself. The gigantic, ancient guardian protecting the Human S-Skill. What a fight it had been. Marche watched himself, nearly dead. All other clan members had been KO'd by the enormous strength of Weapon. And it seemed that Marche would die, too. However, with a last attempt to survive, Marche watched himself throwing his Chirijaden straight through Ultima Weapon's head just as it charged an Ultima spell. The wound made the energy go wild, completely demolishing Weapon. Marche was engulfed in the explosion as well. However, instead of dying, the Ultima energy that formed the explosion enchanted Marche, his mind, his abilities, his outfit, everything. The spirit of Weapon had deemed him worthy. Finally an Ultima Knight was born again. The enormous sword that the Weapon had used, Marche now claimed as his own. The Ultima Weapon since then rested in Marche's hand. As did the human S-Skill, Finishing Touch. It had been a great victory, were it not that Marche had only willed this because he wanted to defeat Ritz, because he hated her so much back then.

Marche flinched at the memory. That epic battle now seemed dirty, because all that kept him going during that fight was the hate for the girl he now loved. Marche hung his head and walked further. Why did he see all these things? Where was he? A new scene appeared, showing 'Old Friends'. Yes, Old Friends they had been then. Marche wasn't sure why he had accepted that mission. Was it to see Ritz one Final time? Give her one last chance of redeeming herself before he would openly fight her? Had it been that? Marche didn't know. The Ultima Knight watched. Watched how he, disguised as a normal Solider, aided Ritz in the battle against the Blade Biter. But Ritz hadn't changed her ways of thinking. She just continued humiliating him (in his eyes) and left after a polite thank you. The Blue Rose he had given her at the beginning of the fight, as an silent offering for peace, she kept. She liked it, but her ways remained the same. Since that fight, Marche had seen her as his greatest enemy, the one he hated most of all.

And then came the dreaded fight in Ambervale. Marche really didn't want to watch, didn't want relive it again. It was still freshly in his mind. How could he forget it? But the scene didn't stop. The dramatic fight unfolded before his very eyes. Everything in that fight disgusted him, everything about him. How he had burned with hate, how he had enjoyed defeating her, humiliating her, wounding her. How he hadn't cared. His mind just couldn't understand that. Not anymore. Not after she had shown so much love for her in Mortal Snow.

"Ritz…" Marche whispered, falling on his knees in the darkness. "Where are you?" For a brief moment, a scene appeared in front of him. Just for a few seconds. He could see her, chained on a stone table, with fear in her eyes he had never seen there before. A dark figure was approaching. But just as Marche was about to see him, the scene faded. Marche screamed. "NOO!!!" He stumbled on his feet and ran. "Show me!" He cried "Whatever you are! Show me her! Show me what's happening!!!" Marche ran and ran. Suddenly he could hear Ritz scream his name. "Ritz! Where are you?!"

"MARCHE!" Her voice, her scream, again. Her voice filled with fear, a fear that couldn't only mean that she was in mortal danger. A fear that could only mean she was looking death in the eye.

"RITZ!" His lungs were burning. "Where are you? RITZ!!!" Then the ground crumbled under him. And he fell. Marche fell. Through the endless darkness. He screamed her name. Somebody laughed, the most sinister and evil laugh he had ever heard. Then there was a roar. A loud, incredible roar filled with nothing but grieving and despair. He shook his head. The Ultima Knight kept falling, everything, the laughter, the roar, Ritz's screams, it grew louder. Marche crashed into something, and his mind shattered.

---

With a start Marche sat up, panting heavily, sweat streaming down his face. He panted like he had run for five days without stopping. He looked around. Gilgamesj had kneeled down next to him, with a very worried look in his face.

"Marche." The Genji Knight sighed. "Are you okay?" Marche didn't answer. Montblanc, Seth, Ardaun, Devianor, Zeran, Majorie. All of them, they were all there, his entire clan. Except for Doned, but his brother had left to his old clan for a visit a few days before Mortal Snow, and still hadn't come back yet. Which was normal, such visits usually took a few weeks.

"Kupo…" Montblanc's voice trembled. "You were screaming and twitching, kupo… Bad dream, kupo?"

"Ritz…" Marche gasped. "She's being killed… I have to go and find her! I have to save her…"

"Marche." Gilgamesj silently said, his voice over flown with concern. "Is your mind healthy enough for that?"

"It's fine…" Marche stood up, still breathing heavily. He grabbed his Ultima Weapon from the table. He looked around to each of his clan members, and finally to Gilgamesj.

"I take it you didn't find her." The Ultima Knight sighed, defeated. Gilgamesj shook his head. "No. But finding her might not be so hard as it seems…" Gilgamesj replied. Marche looked up, giving the Genji Knight a confused look. Gilgamesj took a sealed envelop from one of his pockets. It had a hole in the middle, like a knife had been stabbed through it. "Not long after I arrived and you were having your nightmare, the pub master found this, stuck in the door with a knife made of bone. It's addressed to you. Marche snatched the letter from the Knight's extended hand, ripped it open and began to read.

_New Kid _

_If you want to see whitey-locks one final time, you'll come to Lutia Pass. You'd better hurry if you want to accept this offer, tomorrow we'll kill her, with pleasure._

_But you'll come alone, and we'll know when you aren't. And then you'll only be able to see her corpse. Your choice._

_I look forward to finally meet you again, after all this time. Too long it has been since our last encounter. We both have changed quite a bit, and there is a lot to discuss._

_Don't disappoint me now, mister 'Ultima' Knight  
__The Necromancer_

Marche lowered the letter, speechless. He glanced at Gilgamesj. "Lyle…" He finally whispered, realizing the Necromancer's identity. The clues were so freaking obvious!

Gilgamesj only nodded. "It would appear so that the three Necromancers are Lyle, Guinness and Colin…"

"Wait a second…" Marche glared suspiciously at Gilgamesj. "How do you know their names?"

"I have my sources." Gilgamesj shrugged. "The question is, Marche, what will you do?"

Marche didn't have to think over this for a second. "I'll go to Lutia Pass."

Then he strode towards the door. "Marche!" Ardaun cried. "What about us?!" Marche stopped in his tracks, lowered his head and sighed. "You can't come, it would kill her."

"Ritz is part of our clan, kupo!" Montblanc protested. The others all nodded their agreements.

"No!" Marche thundered. "You will all stay here! You can't come! For one: The letter says so, it would kill her if I didn't go alone. And for second: This has to do with something that happened in my past, our past. Me, Ritz and Mewt. I have to deal with this, and dealing with it I shall." Then his expression saddened. He didn't dare to look straight at them. "I… I have to go alone. I have to take this chance to see her, to save her, alive… My nightmare told me… She's dying, Montblanc. And I can't let that happen!" Tears started running down his cheeks. "I have to save her… She did everything in her power to save me! I have to do the same!" He bit his lip. "I love her. I have to do this." The tears were like shining crystals as they fell towards the ground. "You guys… Wish me luck and… If I don't come back alive, you guys save Ivalice, okay? Tell Doned I love my little brother."

Then Marche left the pub and slammed the door shut behind him, leaving his clan speechless. It had all gone so fast… For a very long while, nobody dared to move. And when they finally did, Marche was already speeding out of Sprohm on a Chocobo, straight to Lutia Pass.

---

It's a bit of a shorter chapter. I'm sorry, I just didn't have much time. I promise a new chapter very soon. It will perhaps be one of the most exciting ones I've written so far. So on to Chapter 17: The Legendary Beast!


	17. Chapter 17: The Legendary Beast

And here is, as I promised, the next chapter. I hope you didn't find the waiting to hard to bear. Now, enjoy the most action-packed PtF chapter yet!

**17. The Legendary Beast**

Marche jumped of his Chocobo. The snow cracked under his boots. He hadn't expected to return to this place so soon. Yet… Here he was in Lutia Pass, great pain in his mind and body, desperately clinging to one thought: That she was alive. He turned to the yellow bird. "Go down the pass, it may get ugly here, I don't want to have you injured."

"Kweh…" Was all the Chocobo said, with a saddened look in its eyes. Then it sped away down the pass.

"At least you are safe." Marche sighed. The Ultima Knight's eyes turned to the sky, which slowly started to colour red. It was almost starting to get dark. In a few hours, night would have fallen over Ivalice. Taking a deep breath, Marche wandered further into the pass, his eyes constantly gazing in all directions. It was awfully silent. Not even one bird singing. Marche passed the place where he and Ritz had fought together in 'Mortal Snow'. There were almost no traces left of that battle, except for one skull, which barely came above the snow. Marche shivered slightly. He slowly drew his Ultima Weapon.

"Lyle!" He called out. There came no response, only silence. But Marche knew he was not alone. He desperately tried to stay calm. "I know you're here, you can't fool me."

"Supernatural 'senses, New Kid?" Immediately Marched spun around, his blade ready, but saw nobody. "Heh heh. Not bad, I give you that. Ah well, I'm done hiding, anyway." Marche turned around again. A few metres away, a shadow appeared above the snow carpet. The mass of blackness seemed to draw all other shadows of the trees, the plants, the rocks, …, into itself, until finally, a figure materialized. It stretched its leathery batwings and turned to face Marche, who stood firmly, his blade ready. The Necromancer fixed its gaze upon Marche. The Ultima Knight recognized him, he had been right, it was Lyle.

"Long time no see, New Kid." The Vampire grinned slyly, his blood-red eyes scanning Marche's tensed body carefully.

"My name is Marche, Lyle." Marche retorted. Lyle just shrugged.

"Like I care anyway."

"So you are the Necromancer the Palace is so desperately searching for?" Marche questioned. The Vampire nodded. "Indeed. And now you have found me. Counting the bounty for me already?"

"Like that's the reason I'm here."

"Oh? What is it then?" Lyle asked, faking innocence. Marche's gaze darkened. Darkened a lot…

"You know what I mean, Vampire…" Marche's voice sounded threatening. "Where is Ritz?"

Lyle simply frowned, shaking his head. "Bold way of asking a question."

"Just answer." Marche retorted. This time the vampire didn't reply. Lyle bolded his fists, his energy rising, his eyes flaring icy blue. Marche raised his weapon, prepared for an attack. But the attack didn't come. It was like he summoned something or somebody. Sure enough, Guinness and Colin soon appeared at his side. But somebody else materialized next to Lyle.

Ritz.

She dropped out of thin air on the snow, only to be stopped by Lyle grabbing her at the rope tied around her neck. The girl groaned in pain, but didn't stir. The sight shocked Marche.

"This is who you are looking for, New Kid?" Lyle sneered as he threw Ritz towards him.

Marche luckily reacted quickly enough to catch her in his arms. Slowly he gently lowered her tortured body, his eyes filled with horror and shock as he gazed upon her. Her entire body was covered with dried bloodstains, scratches, slashes, cuts and all that. It simply horrified him.

"What…" He caressed her cheek gently. "What have they done to you?" It sounded like a bitter whisper. Ritz stirred. She turned her head to him and looked at him. It was strange. Her eyes lit up with some kind of hope, some kind of happiness…

"M…Marche…" She stammered, he almost didn't hear it. So weak, her voice was. Marche shivered. His arms, hands, it all shivered. Ritz smiled weakly at him. He tried to smile back, but it was very difficult. There was a noise of something sailing swiftly through the air and the next moment, Ritz's eyes were wide, a shocked expression on her face. She couldn't bring out any sound, not even a cry of the greatest pain. A small stream of blood ran down from the corner of her mouth.

It was like Marche's mind shattered.

He couldn't stop. He couldn't stop looking from the dagger that had landed straight between Ritz's shoulder to Lyle, whose face betrayed not a single emotion, besides hate and insanity. Marche laid her gently on the snow. She had stopped moving, stopped breathing.

"She's dead…" He realized. Marche's mind screamed out in pure horror, but no sound came over his lips. He stared at her face, that shocked expression still on it. Her tortured body… He grabbed his Ultima blade and stood up, the tip of the blade resting on the ground.

"Why…" He breathed, anger now rising up in him. "WHY?!"

Lyle threw a disgusted glance at Ritz's body. "Why…? Vengeance, New Kid. Her well deserved punishment for giving us this cursed body…" He did a step closer to Marche. "And as for you, New Kid, don't whine. I'll reunite you with her soon enough." Then, faster than the eye could see Lyle unleashed crackling dark bolts of lightning from his hand, which headed straight for Marche. The Ultima Knight had expected this and had jumped away in time, thanks to his reflexes. He brought his blade down on Lyle, but the Necromancer blocked it with his bone sword.

"Why?" Marche hissed in his face. "You monster… You'll pay for what you did to her!"

"No." Lyle hissed back, the gaze of his eyes locked on Marche. "You'll pay, just like she did. You, Teddy boy and whitey-locks… You'll all die after suffering!" The Necromancer did a back flip and fired of his dark arts. "Shadow Flare!"

Marche flung the attack away. "Shock!" The ground beneath Lyle was blasted to bits, but the undead teleported himself to safety before he could get hurt.

Marche released another attack, but Lyle warped himself right behind Marche and stabbed him in the back. Marche's armour protected him, but still the blade made contact with his flesh. Marche groaned in pain and stumbled forwards, doing a wild swing to Lyle. The necromancer proved to swift however and dodged the attack. Lyle unleashed a full-force Shadow Flare which hit Marche straight in the chest, blowing him backwards, smacking him hard against a rock. Marche fell on the ground and struggled to get up. Lyle appeared in front of him.

"Weakling." He spat. "You disappoint me now, Ultima Knight. I heard you were the strongest guy in this dream…" Marche groaned and coughed painfully. A few drops of blood coloured the snow. "Oh I get it…" Lyle smirked. He grabbed Marche by the hair. "You _can't_ fight right now, right, New Kid? You're to burdened by her death… To shocked by what we did with her. Oh, I can assure you that it was painful, she even _begged_ for _mercy_ New Kid. It was the greatest moment in my life."

Enraged by this, Marche pulled himself free and stroke quick enough with his Ultima Weapon to lash Lyle's chest open, flinging dirty red blood on the snow. Lyle growled in furry and struck Marche with his blade. The Ultima Knight staggered backwards, letting himself defenceless long enough for Lyle to hit Marche again with his Shadow Flare. The warrior sailed through the air and landed a good amount of feet away from Lyle, who smirked. Guinness and Colin just stood there, watching Marche get beaten.

"I'm sorry… Ritz…" Marche coughed as he struggled to get up. But he couldn't. He couldn't get on his feet anymore. Tears appeared in Marche's eyes. He fell on his hands and knees and sobbed. "I'm sorry…" His warm tears melted holes in the snow. Lyle slowly approached Marche again, but the Knight paid no attention. A shock went through Marche's body.

"Why would I feel sorry…?" Marche suddenly asked. The question made Lyle stop in his tracks. A sly smirk spread over Marche's face. "After all, what do I care for whitey-locks?"

"Shut up!" Marche shouted. "I'm not listening to you… You go away! I don't hate Ritz! I-"

Himself cut him of.

"You do hate her. We hate her. I hate her. And I am you. What has she ever done for you?" Marche tried to reply, but he himself replied sooner. "I tell you what she did. Nothing. Everything of her was against you. All she ever gave you was humiliation, pain and sadness."

Marche covered his ears, wildly shaking his head. "NOT TRUE!!!" He roared. "You're a liar!"

"So you deny your true feelings?" Marche grinned darkly.

"Hate is not what I feel for Ritz! I… She loves me!" Marche defended himself.

"You're a fool if you believe that… It was all just an opportunity to humiliate you even further! Why are you so blind?!" Marche tried to response, but was cut of again. "NO! You will be silent now! I had it all thought up for us! I acted so that you would live better! And what did I get?! You forced me away, condemned me to silence while you ran of with that-"

"STOP IT!!!" Marche pleaded, falling flat on the ground, his entire body shaking every time he sobbed. "Stop it…" He closed his eyes and cried like he had never cried before. "Let this end… Somebody help me… Somebody put an end to this…"

Lyle had watched it all with the greatest amusement. It seemed like Marche was split into two side who had argued with each other. One side the goody-two-shoes, the other Marche's darkest feelings and emotions. How interesting… But now he was going to end it. Lyle readied his blade and approached Marche's broken figure.

"I shall put an end to your misery, New Kid."

Marche didn't respond. He didn't even seem to be aware of the fact that Lyle was standing next to him, raising his sword, ready to stab through his throat. But just as Lyle wanted to strike, a flash of grey knocked the Necromancer against the ground a few metres away. Enraged Lyle got up, to find an out-of-breath Gilgamesj next to Marche.

"Marche!" Gilgamesj tried to get Marche to notice him, but that didn't happen. Marche sat up on his knees, still crying. The Genji Knight extended his hand to touch Marche's shoulder, but just as he did, an enormous wave of energy extended from Marche, knocking everything flat against the snow it touched, including all trees, rocks and even a bit of the mountain. The tremendous force threw Gilgamesj, Lyle, Guinness and Colin away. Ritz was spared because the wave passed right over her dying body. A second wave of energy extended from Marche, this one much closer to the ground, blowing all snow away.

"Let it end… somebody… help me…" Marche sobbed, bowing his head. Gilgamesj dug himself out of the snow that had covered him, only to see Marche get engulfed by an icy blue light.

"I'm too late…" The Genji Knight gasped. Marche stood up, his eyes white with no pupils. He grabbed the Ultima Weapon firmly in his hand. His Ultima armours shimmered in the blue light that had engulfed him like a fire. Tears still rolled down from his eyes onto the ground. "From now on, you shall not hurt Marche any longer." Marche said, with a voice that was not his own. It was a very animalistic voice, like a Lion that had learned to speak. "You can let it go Marche. I will take care of you."

Marche bowed his head and smiled, apparently relieved. He slowly nodded.

"Marche! DON'T!!!" Gilgamesj yelled. But Marche ignored him; he slowly turned around and began to march towards the three Necromancers, who had been blown up further in the pass by the energy that had erupted from him. Marche walked slowly, his fingers, his toes, twitching… As he continued to walk, the blue light got stronger and larger, until it erupted in an explosion of pure emotions. Marche stood still and cried the most desperate, the most grieving cry Ivalice had heard in a millennium. Marche clenched his jaw in an animalistic way, he flexed his fingers, and he bowed his back. Energy started to swirl around him, the amount of it so large that it made the power of the Totema seem like nothing.

"This is impossible…" Gilgamesj thought. "There is no way that it can contain so much energy!"

Marche roared, blood red claws grew on his fingers, on his toes, thick, dark blue and purple fur began to cover his skin, his head began to deform until it took the shape of a lion's head. Blood red, bony blades erupted from the creature's elbows while five sharp and large horns grew out of the back of the head of the transforming Marche. The lion-like creature grew a long tail at rapid speed, while a ring of long, thick white fur grew around the neck of the creature. Lastly, the lion almost fell on its hands and knees as it roared in pain when two enormous, wings with white feathers grew from its shoulders. The wings looked like a cross between angel and vampire wings, completely fitting the beast's overall look. The Lion stood firmly on its hind legs. Only the brilliant, silver armour and the gigantic Ultima Weapon (which now seemed small when worn by the beast) could remind a person that this creature, almost trice as tall as a human, had once been the Ultima Knight Marche.

Gilgamesj jumped to his feet and carefully eyed the transformed Marche. He gulped slightly.

"The Griever is born…" The Genji Knight whispered. He then glanced at the Necromancers, who were getting up as well and gazed at Marche. Anger rose in Gilgamesj. Them. It had been them that had driven Marche over the edge. If only he could have prevented this! Enraged Gilgamesj stormed at Lyle, his Excalibur II ready to taste undead flesh. Lyle had seen him in time however, and blocked the holy Sword with his blade.

Meanwhile, Griever stretched his wings and flew into the air for the first time in its new life. His lion eyes scanned his surroundings. The ruined pass, the figures under him, and that one, lifeless body… Tears formed in the eyes of Griever, who tilted his head back and let out a roar of sadness. The sound made Gilgamesj shiver. It was such a sad sound, it almost forced him to cry. The Grievers hadn't stolen their name. But this fact only made him angrier, and he swung his blade wildly at Lyle.

"You fool!" Gilgamesj cursed. "You undead idiot!" Lyle blocked the Excalibur II, careful not to touch the holy blade. "Are you happy now with what you've done?!" Gilgamesj shouted. "Do you have any idea what you have unleashed?!"

"Frankly I'm not all that interested. Besides the fact that that thing is New Kid, and that I want him _dead_!" Launching a Shadow Flare to keep Gilgamesj at bay, Lyle turned to Guinness and Colin.

"You two, finish Whitey-locks off for good, then stop that overgrown cat!" The Vampire commanded. The other two Necromancers didn't waste time and warped themselves towards Ritz. Gilgamesj groaned.

"I can't protect Ritz now…" He thought "I need to beat this guy up." Then a desperate idea came in his mind. Gilgamesj hasted himself and sped in front of Griever. He knew he wouldn't reach Ritz in time, but he could reach Griever.

"Marche!" Gilgamesj shouted. The Griever turned its fearsome lion head, decorated with the blood red horns, to look at the Genji Knight. Gilgamesj almost staggered backwards because of all the grieving, all the sadness in the eyes of the Griever. "They are going to kill Ritz, Marche!"

The ears of Griever perked up. Unleashing a roar of furry, Griever immediately unleashed a beam of pure energy straight towards Ritz. For a brief second Gilgamesj thought Griever would destroy Ritz, but the beam passed straight over her and hit the two Necromancers instead. The explosion was enormous and almost ripped the Necromancers apart, yet surprisingly, Ritz stayed unharmed. The snow was coloured with dirty red spots.

Gilgamesj sighed relieved, but was rammed in the ground by Lyle the next moment.

"I'll teach you not to interfere with us!" Lyle hissed, angry. The Genji Knight threw the Necromancer of him and engaged him once again with his Excalibur II ready.

Lyle and Gilgamesj circled around each other, eyeing each other carefully. Then Gilgamesj made the first move, seemingly rushing towards Lyle. However, once the Necromancer raised his blade to block the attack, Gilgamesj was above him, raising his blade quickly.

"Saint Cross!" A ring of Holy Energy erupted from the ground, damaging the Vampire horribly. It burned. It burned so much. Screaming in pain, Lyle blindly unleashed a Shadow Flare, which absorbed the light of Holy and relieved him of the horrible pains. Long he didn't have, however, for the Genji Knight attacked yet again. This time their blades made contact. They swung their swords madly at each other, blocking, striking, and defending.

The Vampire trussed forward with his blade, Gilgamesj barely avoided getting pierced by doing a quick step aside. Lyle flew past him, but before the Knight could stab the Necromancer with his holy blade, the Necromancer flew up in the air, getting out of reach.

"Meteor." Lyle hissed, letting a large rock from outer space crash down towards Gilgamesj. The Genji Knight reacted fast enough, however, and unleashed a powerful Shock towards the big rock. Before the attack could destroy it, however, the meteor was blasted to oblivion by an overwhelming energy attack fired of by Griever. The Legendary Beast had blasted Guinness and Colin out of the way, and had now stopped the Meteor from reaching Gilgamesj. The Genji Knight could only wonder if Griever wanted to protect him, before he jumped at Lyle again. He had to finish the Necromancer of today. Now.

"You just don't give up, do you, little knight?!" Lyle shouted angrily, blocking Gilgamesj's Excalibur II.

"Well I would be ashamed if I did." Gilgamesj retorted. "Not after all you've done to my friends! Not after you unleashed a Griever upon the country I'm supposed to protect!"

The Genji Knight fought more furious then ever, pulling out everything he had in him. But Lyle could keep up, even with difficult, for the Necromancer had a powerful thing driving him as well.

Gilgamesj fired of another Saint Cross attack, which Lyle countered with a Shadow Flare. The Necromancer unleashed a barrage of dark arts at the Genji Knight, who did all kinds of jumps and flips to avoid them. Hasting himself with time magic, Gilgamesj speeded towards Lyle, who sped in the air to avoid the razing warrior. Lyle dove for Gilgamesj and grabbed him from behind, using a Drain Touch to sap away the Genji Knight's life force. Gilgamesj reacted fast enough and stabbed with his Excalibur II behind him, the Holy Blade tasting undead flesh. Lyle screamed, for the blade burned like hell. He retreated quickly, covering himself with his wings. Gilgamesj didn't stop however, and sped towards the damaged Necromancer. Just as Gilgamesj came too close, Lyle opened his wings, knocking him back. "DIE!" Lyle screamed. "Hell's Judgement!"

Tendrils of darkness shot out of nowhere and grabbed the Genji Knight, engulfing him in darkness. The light of the sun was blocked by the Necromancer's dark powers. Lyle raised his hands, thus lifting the engulfed Gilgamesj in the air. Lyle then unleashed his powers, making blood red thunderbolts come down crushingly on the Genji Knight, setting the shadows that covered him ablaze. The next moment, there was a gigantic explosion, with no Genji Knight in sight anymore. A bit of ash, still burning fell from the air.

Lyle smirked. It had been a though battle, but he had succeeded. He had killed yet another one that would have wanted him to stay cursed. The fools. He would kill them! His eyes glanced at Griever, who seemed to do nothing but hover above Ritz's body. Guinness and Colin still laid lifeless on the snow. Cursing in him, Lyle turned around, only to get an Excalibur II stabbed straight through his chest.

"Holy Blade." Gilgamesj breathed. Lyle stared in shock from the Blade to the Genji Knight for a moment. Gilgamesj was clearly damaged by Hell's Judgement, his armour showing cracks at a few places, his helmet shattered. The many scarves that had helped covered his face were ragged and torn. Above his left eye was a deep wound, blood streaming down the Genji Knights face. He bled on other places as well, and yet his eyes showed nothing but courage and will to fight, the will to defeat Lyle. The Necromancer gazed at Gilgamesj's face. This couldn't be! This was impossible!

"It's you…!" He gasped, then Excalibur II unleashed the power of Holy, straight inside the undead Necromancer.

Pain. That was the best word available to describe the Vampire's feelings, to describe the horrendous scream that could be heard from miles away Lutia Pass. The entire undead body of the Necromancer was exposed to the power of Holy, tearing at every inch of his body. Lyle was blown back and crashed on the ground, not moving.

Gilgamesj lowered his blade, breathing hard and painful. He had willed to survive and finish Lyle of. He finally had succeeded in doing so. It was silent for a long while. Even Griever didn't stir, didn't howl in grieving, in despair.

Then there was laughter.

Hard, insane laughter, coming from Lyle. The necromancer stirred and slowly got on his knees. Griever turned his fierce head towards the insane Necromancer, as did Gilgamesj. "Heh heh…" Lyle chuckled. "Really, now… You have never heard of… going out with a bang?!"

"WHAT?!" Gilgamesj cried. Lyle raised his hands, the Genji Knight ran towards the Necromancer but was already too late.

"DOOMDSDAY!!!" Lyle cried, this time unleashing everything, every single bit of power, darkness and hate in his body. The sky darkened completely, the ground began to heathen up, the snow melted as Lyle fell on the ground, presumable dead. But the ultimate power of the Necromancer kept coming forth. The ground started to shudder and split. Huge chunks of stone started to float in the air, and drops of searing hot liquid began to rain down from the air. The chunks of stone that appeared from all over the battlefield made contact with the searing liquid, and started to melt. Soon they were too heavy to continue to float, and they plummeted towards the ground, followed by blood red thunderbolts striking down from the sky.

"Damn it." Gilgamesj cried. He fell on his knees. "I can't stop this…"

Griever howled in furry. He saw this last action of the Vampire as a personal attack on him, as an attempt to destroy Marche and those the boy had held dear. In pure despair, the Lion bolded his clawed fists and let out a furious cry. Energy started to expand as a dome around him. As the dome touched the ground, it started to expand even further in height and width, destroying everything that touched it. Gilgamesj gasped as he recognized this as the forbidden magic: Ultima. The Ultima spell made contact with doomsday and completely demolished Lyle's last attempt to destroy them all. But Ultima didn't only destroy Doomsday. It destroyed the rocks, the snow, the trees, everything it touched. It was pure cleansing. The spell lasted until every sign of the Doomsday spell was gone.

But the horror had just started.

Griever exaggerated this attack. His mind could not think otherwise. He glanced at that one figure, sitting crouched in the snow: Gilgamesj. That person, he would attack him too if he didn't remove him right away! The Lion roared and fired another Ultima Spell at Gilgamesj. The Genji Knight ran for his life as the furry of the Legendary Beast followed him. The Grievers that Ivalice had hoped never to see again. Now one had been freed from its bounds. It had grown in Marche, feeling Marche's sadness, his grieving, his despair. And the Griever could only feel those things too. It wished to help his host above all, but all he knew was grieving and despair, resulting in a mind only set on destruction.

The Dome of Ultima engulfed and destroyed even more of Lutia Pass, but Gilgamesj had managed to haste himself again to get away unharmed. He hid behind a rock, hoping to have escaped the attention of the Griever Lion. He dared to peek over the rock and looked at the demolished pass. But Griever was nowhere in sight. A huge shadow loomed over him. The Genji Knight gulped and slowly turned around, staring right in the eyes of Griever, who loomed over him. The Lion roared again and again, cries of despair, cries of destruction. Announcing the destruction it would bring if he was not eased. Griever gazed at Gilgamesj, who gazed back. Something dropped from the eyes of the Lion on the ground besides the wounded knight.

Tears.

"Marche…" Gilgamesj tried. "It's me, Gilgamesj! Don't you recognize me?!"

Griever seemed to hesitate for a while. As Gilgamesj slowly tried to crouch away from the might beast, a Firaga spell engulfed the great Lion, angering him even more. Griever sped in the air, shooting blasts of destructive energy everywhere. Gilgamesj jumped up and ran. He glanced at Montblanc and the rest of Marche's clan.

"Don't attack the Griever!!!" Gilgamesj shouted. "That's MARCHE!!!"

"Say what, Kupo?!?!?!" Montblanc shouted back. But there was no time for further explanation. Above all their heads the angriest, most vicious cry they ever heard, sounded. High in the air Griever charged all of his powers to completely destroy Lutia Pass, Gilgamesj and Marche's clan with it.

"JUST RUN!!!" Gilgamesj shouted on top of his lungs. Hearing the insane fear in his voice, they obeyed and fled. Gilgamesj dove towards Ritz. Griever was ready to demolish everything. The Genji Knight slowly lifted Ritz up from the ground. He pulled the dagger from between her shoulders as soft and painless as he could. The girl flinched when he did that. Gilgamesj sighed, obviously relieved. She was still alive. At least, for now. Ritz's eyes could weakly scan Gilgamesj's face. Her vision was blurry, and all she could feel was pain, her life flowing away, slowly and painfully. Yet she was aware of the person that picked her up. That touched her gently for the first time in what seemed eternity.

"M…Mewt…?" She whispered, her voice so weak that one could almost not hear it. But there was no time to reply. As Ritz faded into unconsciousness, possibly to never get out of it again, Griever fired of his destructive force in the form of the mightiest of flares. The gigantic beams of energy that formed the embodiment of Destruction called Terra Flare, crashed down towards the ground. And once they hit, Lutia Pass was blown away from the map under five seconds. The explosion and cataclysm that followed rocked all of Ivalice, debris of the mountain flying as far as to the sea and even beyond. The Griever, that had been growing in Marche for so long, had been freed.

Ivalice was about to learn the meaning of Destruction.

---

Phew, what a chapter! I had this planned from the beginning, and now it is here! I hope you guys enjoyed it. It's the second longest PtF chapter to date. Griever is based on the Ultimate Guardian Force from Final Fantasy VIII, Griever the Legendary Beast. PtF Griever looks exactly like FF VIII's Griever. Here's a link to an image showing Griever (without the armour he has in PtF, however):

http://www finalfantasytr com/ff8/griever.jpg (put dots between www finalfantasytr com to get the link to work).


	18. Chapter 18: Guilt

This is a shorter chapter, so sorry for that. A new chapter will follow soon.

**18. Guilt**

The darkness surrounded her, had fully engulfed her. Thousand noises ran through her head. Roars of a lion, the clashing of blades, her very own gasps as she was getting killed, her screams when she was tortured. Everything. And it pained her. But, she was eased. Eased by a weird feeling. She couldn't really tell what it was. But it felt like… not having pain. She groaned. The girl had had enough of the darkness. It was time to leave it. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids fell like they were made of lead. Still, she kept trying. Exhausted as she was, she still wanted to get out. Her body protested, her mind screamed because of the effort. But then, there was light.

Slowly, Ritz Malheur opened her eyes, awakening.

A groan escaped her lips. For a fearful second, she thought she was still underground, wounded, naked and tied. But her eyes took in the sight of a comfortable bed, a soft nightdress and warm sheets. She was no longer tied up, though her body still hurt. She felt a presence, like somebody was sitting next to her. Her sight still was a bit blurry, so she turned her head to the side to look. A gasp escaped her lips, her body becoming overflowed with the warm feeling of relief and happiness.

"Shara!"

But it came out as a mere whisper. Still, it was enough to be able to hear the sheer joy that accompanied those words. The Viera sniper turned to Ritz immediately, relief dripping of her face. She slowly placed a hand on Ritz's forehead.

"Ritz! Thank Exodus, you've awakened!"

Ritz glanced to her other side, and was again taken by a pleasant surprise.

"Elena!"

The assassin smiled at Ritz, bearing the same relieved look as Shara.

"You had us worried." Elena said silently. "When they brought you here it looked like you already were a goner."

Suddenly, tears started to stream out of Ritz's eyes, and she began to cry. Shara comfortingly put an arm around her. Ritz cried harder, but Shara didn't mind. For the first time since this nightmare began, Ritz could cry and there was somebody to comfort her. Elena placed a hand on Ritz's shoulder.

"It's ok, it's ok. You're safe now." The assassin whispered.

"We understand Ritz, really." Shara added. "It must have been hell. But it's behind you, you're alive and safe."

"It hurt so much…" Ritz sobbed, her voice could barely be heard. "I lost all my dignity, all my pride, everything… I lost everything Shara… I… I begged for mercy… Me… of all people…"

Shara's hand ran through Ritz's hair, and it made the Fencer feel more at ease, but it didn't take away the mental suffering and pain. She saw it all happen, again. She remembered everything so well, even though she didn't want to.

"I have to admit…" Elena nodded. "I was shocked when I saw you when you were brought here."

"True…" Shara agreed, speaking softly, to not hurt Ritz more than she already had been hurt. "But the Prince didn't look much better, either."

Ritz perked up. Her eyes met Shara's. "Shara, where… where is Marche?"

Silence. Long, painful silence.

"He's… He's not dead, is he?" Ritz asked again. Shara nor Elena looked willing to answer. Something bad must have happened, Ritz thought.

"Shara, what… what happened? I… I remember being in Marche's arms, then pain in my back. Then I drifted in and out of unconsciousness, until I felt somebody pulling a knife out of my back… Then I slipped into unconsciousness… But, it wasn't Marche… Where is Marche?" Ritz's pleading eyes forced Shara to answer.

"Marche is… not here. And I doubt, he'll come back soon." The sniper hesitatingly said. It didn't lessen Ritz's confusion, so Shara continued: "Ritz… We weren't there at Lutia pass but… Everything was told to us. Marche he… he fought the Necromancers, lost because he was mentally torn and he couldn't bare that anymore… His… his grieving feelings overflowed and he… he…"

"He transformed in a Griever Lion." Elena finished, her voice trembling. Ritz's face turned white. Of course she had heard of the Viera legend of the Griever Lions, Shara had told her once. But, it was a myth, so they had said. And now… Marche…?

"He… no!" Ritz shook her head. "No! No! No!" She laid down on her back, her body screaming in pain as she made this movement. "Marche… He can't have! No ! Not Marche!"

Shara's hand rested on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "I wish this was a bad joke, Ritz, but no… It… It really happened."

"But it's not Marche's fault!" Elena quickly added. "It's because of those Necromancers! They… Oh Exodus Ritz… They did horrible things to you and it was that that pushed Marche over the edge…"

"It's my fault, isn't it?" Ritz whispered, a heavy weight pressing on her heart. The weight of guilt. "It's because of my actions Marche became so torn. I thought I had made those disappear after I joined his clan, after that one faithful mission in Lutia Pass. But I was wrong… They were still there, hidden, waiting until Marche's guard would be lowered… My fault."

"Don't think that way!" Shara said sharply. "Had the Necromancers not done this to you, Marche's guard would never have been lowered."

"No Shara." The Fencer interrupted her. "Maybe not now, but later, it would have happened. Inevitable, someday Marche's hate would break free, tearing him into two sides…"

"The Prince… He said, Marche cried. That Marche wanted it to end, the rift in himself, he wanted it gone. It was then he accepted Griever to take over… Marche is asleep, both sides lost. Only the Griever remains awake, guarding the sleep, bringing destruction." Elena stared grimly in front of her. The future didn't look that bright with a Griever in the play.

"Lutia Pass was completely blown from the map by Griever's destructive powers…" Shara shook her head. Everything that the Prince had told when he came back with Ritz. It was so hard to believe and yet… Lutia Pass was gone, the Griever real…

"Your highness! Please go back to bed, you're injured!" A voice came from behind the doors of the room. The three girls turned their gaze to the doors. Another voice could be heard, younger.

"I'm fine Babus, now I want to check up on my friend." The doors opened and Mewt came into the room, followed by his personal attendant, Babus Swain. The young Prince's gaze immediately me Ritz's, and Mewt sighed relieved. Shara and Elena bowed their heads, being in the presence of royalty after all, but Mewt shook his head.

"This is no time for formalities." He stopped at the end of Ritz's bed. "I'm glad to see you're awake, Ritz."

"So… It really was you who saved me there…" Ritz whispered, somehow her cheeks turning red. It was kind of hard to grasp that the once wimpy, picked-on Mewt had been the one to kill Lyle and save Ritz from being destroyed together with Lutia Pass. Mewt scratched the back of his head.

"It wasn't me. But Gilgamesj." Ritz studied his face, he hadn't really changed much in looks. Besides the fact that he had a few cuts in his face and that he looked rather weak and tired. "But I guess it is the same."

"So I'm…"

"Yeah, my home, Bervenia Palace." Mewt finished for her. He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. I couldn't save Marche."

"Don't take the blame, it was my fault." Ritz corrected him. The Prince shook his head. He didn't want her to feel guilty. Because he knew she couldn't really have helped it. How could she have know back then that her actions and behaviour against Marche could turn out so bad in this world?

"When we were saved in the nick of time by my dad…" Mewt continued. "I really thought you were already dead… It took my entire squad of healers and mages to get you back."

Ritz turned her head to the side, closing her eyes. "Sorry to be a bother."

"Don't take it wrong!" He quickly added. "That's what friends are for. I was really worried. For a moment I had lost both of my friends from back there…"

Ritz knew he meant St. Ivalice. Mewt hit himself on the chest. "I'm guilty too. If I hadn't found that stupid book this all would never have happened!"

Ritz felt sorry for him. They all felt guilty. All of them. Marche had never wanted to harm any of them. He had wanted to help them all, to make them stronger. Marche fought for reality, not for a weakling's escape. And in a way, he had won, at great cost. Though his friends had realised the truth, Marche had to give up his own dream. His dream to go home. And Ritz knew Marche still hadn't accepted Ivalice as his new home. The existence of Griever was prove of that. All these things, her, the change of world, the Necromancers, all of it… All of it had played its part in giving birth to Griever and to the tearing down of Marche's mind. A tear rolled over her cheek.

"What do we do now?" She asked, her voice trembling. Mewt stared out of the window.

"We'll wait. There's nothing else we can do right now. You need to heal, anyway."

Ritz began to cry again, and she was happy when she felt Shara's assuring arms around her. It put her to ease. It felt great to cry and having someone there to just hold her. She didn't care if she looked like a little kid, she cried and didn't stop, letting all of her pain and sorrow flow away with her tears.

---

Like I said, shorter chapter and a new one will follow soon. How soon? Well, I dunno. I have two weeks of vacation now, so lots of time to write. Unfortunately, the original Final Fanatsy Tactics is quite an adicting game, sucking up quite a lot of my precious time (it's my first time playing it). Still, a new chapter coming up soon enough, so look forward to it, I'd say.


	19. Chapter 19: Viera's Legend

Sorry for the long wait. To make up for it, this chapter is pretty long. Enjoy!

**19. Viera's Legend**

Days filled with afraid waiting followed. Ritz's wounds healed quickly, thanks to the Palace's team of highly skilled mages. Shara and Elena didn't leave Ritz's side for a moment and Mewt often came to check up on her. Ritz had noticed every time she saw him, how troubled he looked. He was the Prince, he needed to protect and guide this country, but now there was a Griever lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. In the past days, there had been no word of sighting of the Legendary Beast. Marche's clan also came to visit Ritz a lot, and today she even got a visit from Doned. All this time while she had joined the clan of Marche and had undergone all the past events, the young boy had been with his friends in Ambervale, unaware of what happened with his brother and friends. But on request of Mewt, he had been called to the Palace. Mewt wanted every of Marche's friends gathered in the Palace, where they could be safe.

"I had no idea what was going on here in the past few days." Doned confessed, sitting on a chair at the end of Ritz's bed. "But how could I have guessed that all this would happen during my usual two-week visit to my old clan friends?"

"I don't blame you, Doned." Ritz smiled, assuring him. "I think it's better you weren't here. Not really suitable for young eyes, though I know you're tough."

"My own brother, a Griever…" The boy bowed his head, sighing deeply. "I knew something was wrong inside of him. But this… I never dared to expect a Griever…"

"Nobody thought it would come this far." Shara said silently. "There hasn't been a Griever for a millennium, which is so long ago people started to call it a legend."

Ritz sighed and closed her eyes. All the time when they talked about Griever, never was there a word spoken about a solution to the problem. But there had to be one, right? Every problem has a solution.

"Shara. Is there a way to bring Marche back?"

A long silence fell.

Eventually, Shara spoke again, her face betraying uncertainty. She took a deep breath. "Only a legend, Ritz. But, I'd rather wait telling it until everybody is here to discuss the problem." She patted Ritz's head, to comfort her a bit. "For now, just rest and heal."

A sigh escaped the Fencer's lips. But she knew Shara was right. And so she closed her eyes to get some sleep, again.

---

When she woke up again, she noticed that for the first time since she had been brought here, she was alone. Shara and Elena were gone, the door of the room stood slightly open. Against better knowing, Ritz threw the sheets of her and slowly tried to sit up. Her body burned when she did that, it still being stiff and wounded from her long, torturing imprisonment. But seeing that her wounds did not reopen, she took it that they were healed enough already. He got out of bed, standing wobbly on her legs. She stumbled towards the door, her feet groaning with every step. But she clenched her jaw and didn't dare to go back to bed. Too pride for that, she was. She looked outside of the room. Only a few feet away from her door, she saw a staircase going down. There was nobody else in the hall. But downstairs she could hear footsteps and voices. Curious she walked to the top of the stairs, peeking to the floor beneath. A few judges were walking past, talking to each other. Ritz wanted to go downstairs when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked straight in the eyes of Shara.

"You." The Viera said, pointing with her finger to Ritz's chest. "Need to be in bed."

"And I needed to stretch my legs." Ritz retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"You've stretched them enough now, back to bed." A weak smile formed itself on Shara's face as she gently forced Ritz back to her room. Ritz sank down on her bed again, but refused to lie down.

"Where is everybody?" The Fencer asked her Viera friend. Shara sat down on her chair again, crossing her arms.

"The Prince and Judgemaster are giving the judges special instructions for the situation."

"And what about a solution to the problem?"

"That's a private discussion for us, the prince and Judgemaster and Marche's clan. It'll take place tomorrow." Shara glanced at Ritz from the corner of her eyes. "If you're healthy enough tomorrow, that is."

"I'm fine!" Ritz insisted. "I just needed to stretch my legs a bit, but I'm already feeling a lot better." Sighing, Ritz laid down and shook her head. "But all this waiting, in fear, it makes me feel so tired and powerless. I want to do something, I want to act! Laying here waiting really isn't aiding my health."

"If we really need to take the path I'm fearing we'll have to take, you'll soon wish that you could stay in bed." Shara commented slowly. Rite shot her a glare.

"And leave Marche as a Griever? Never! Whatever it takes to bring him back, I'll do it!"

Shara laid her hand on Ritz's and smiled. "Now there's the Ritz I remember. Glad you're feeling better, both in mind and body."

Ritz sighed deeply. "Some mental scars will never heal, though… But, there's no point staying in the past. Life moves on, so I have to follow." She clenched her fist. "My only regret is that I'll never be able to get payback on those three monsters."

"Yes…" Shara bowed her head. "They are buried under tons of rocks and rubble from Lutia Pass, or just completely obliterated and destroyed by Griever's Terra Flare."

It became silent for a while, until Ritz asked for Elena, noticing the Assassin was still gone. "Elena needed to stretch her legs too." Shara distantly replied. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"I hope so." Ritz commented and bowed her head. "I feel a bit safer that way." Her cheeks were slightly red with embarrassment.

"It's no crime to be afraid, Ritz. After what happened, I don't think anybody would complain or laugh with it."

The human girl shivered, the memories of the events still very freshly printed in her mind. She would not be able to forget it. Never.

---

The next morning, when Shara and Elena both entered the room to wake Ritz up, they saw, to their shock and amazement, that the bed was already empty. Ritz's nightdress was hanging on a chair, her normal clothes, armour and weapons gone.

"Don't tell me…" Elena began. Shara bowed her head and sighed.

"She's feeling like herself again, headstrong and totally stubborn." Elena walked to the window, which gave view on the courtyard. Ritz was there, with Mewt. The two Viera exited the room and headed downstairs and then outside to the courtyard.

Ritz was doing a few practice swings with her Femme Fatale, Mewt sat on a bench, watching. "You sure you should do that already?" The prince asked, worried. He wore his normal, royal prince clothes, for now he was Mewt, and not the mysterious Genji Warrior Gilgamesj.

"You sound like Shara, Mewt." Ritz laughed. "I feel fine ,really. It's good to be outside again and feel my trusty Femme Fatale in my hand again."

"If only Marche were here." Mewt sighed, "Then it would be a perfect reunion." Ritz bowed her head and agreed. "Yeah…" She looked up when she saw Shara and Elena approaching.

"You had us worried." Elena said, a bit angry.

"I couldn't wait anymore." Ritz apologized. "Sorry for your worrying Elena."

"At least you look like you feel fully healthy again." Shara complimented her. "That's a good thing."

Ritz nodded and continued her practise. After a while, a palace servant shuffled towards Mewt.

"Your highness, Judgemaster Cid has arranged the meeting." Mewt thanked the bangaa and turned to Ritz.

"Alright, dad and Marche's clan is waiting for us. It's time we start looking for a discussion."

The three girls followed Mewt inside, to a conference room with a round table. All of Marche's clan members, Babus and Judgemaster Cid were present. Mewt took place on the royal seat of the table and nodded the others should sit down as well. Babus and Cid each took place at a side of Mewt.

"Okay." Mewt began, taking a deep breath. "The matter we're here together for is serious and urgent, so any form of formalities can be forgotten for now." He gave a brief look to Ritz, before continuing. "By now we all know the horrendous truth: After thousand years, a Griever has shown up in Ivalice again."

"A Griever." Cid said calmly. "Is a legendary creature. It is not evil, only permanently sad and desperate. It can come into being when one person is just hopelessly lost in his own worries and despair. This happened with Marche, letting the seeds of a Griever sprout."

"At Lutia Pass it could be witnessed how, because of the actions of the Necromancers Guinness, Lyle and Colin as well as past events, Marche became torn in two sides. His normal, kind self and all his hatred, sadness and despair." Ritz lowered her head, feeling guilty yet again. "This rift was the final drip. The Marche we know, the real Marche, wasn't able to handle it anymore and the Griever hatched. Griever's desire to protect Marche comforted Marche and he willingly let Griever take over. Because of this, Marche transformed in Griever and it is Griever who now holds control over Marche's body. But Marche allowed that too happen."

"The Griever's desire is to protect Marche." Shara silently added in, shivering. "But, as Judgemaster Cid said, because it only knows sadness and despair, it can't fulfil this task in a correct way. Though Marche's anger is no longer torturing Marche, both Marches are locked away in the Griever, while the Griever goes on a rampage, taking every bit of violence as a personal attack on Marche. It counters with its unbelievable powers. Lutia Pass is the biggest example. It can only bring destruction and despair, for those are the only things a Griever knows."

"Question is." Doned raised his voice. "How do we get my brother back?"

It was silent for a long time. Nobody seemed to know the answer. Elena poked Shara, who sighed but nodded to the Assassin.

"We Viera." Shara began, her voice trembling. "We have a legend about the Grievers." Everybody's eyes now fell on the Sniper, who bit her lip and thought for a moment. Then she told her tale.

"The legend goes that long ago, when Ivalice was still young, a Viera and a Hume fell in love. They were happy, but because of the Viera way back then they could not be together. This pressed on the Hume and he sank in his despair. A Griever grew and took hold of the Hume. His love cried when she saw her beloved Hume going rampant because of their separation. She prayed to the Gods to aid her. And when she cried, her tears fell on a crystal stone, only to form a mighty blade. She took it up and struck the Griever straight in its chest, the power of the sword piercing to the Lion's heart, making him realize truth and teaching him sanity. The Griever let go of the Hume and so the Hume became normal again. They lived their live to the fullest in service of their love. And the blade was stored away, guarded by God's strength."

Shara let out a deep sigh. Nobody said something. Elena glanced around the table.

"This blade is the Viera's most precious legend and treasure, would it be true. The Blade that pierces the Lion's heart. The Lionheart Blade." Elena closed her eyes and became as silent as the others.

"This Lionheart…" Ritz eventually said. "Could we reach through Griever to Marche if we had it?"

"According to the legend, yes." Shara answered, but she seemed unsure. "But it is a legend… No one has ever tried to find the blade, for it was not needed. Until thousand years ago, but records of that time betray no traces of the Lionheart."

"I read the Griever was killed then." Devianor mentioned softly.

"Which is certainly not what we want to happen with Marche, kupo!" Montblanc protested.

"Of course not." Mewt quickly said. "But okay… Propose the Lionheart exists. Are there any clues to its whereabouts?"

"Yes…" Majorie whispered, looking at Shara and Elena. "Passed down for generations of Viera, is it not?" Elena nodded and Shara spoke.

_"On faraway shores, shrouded by Mist. On ancient soil, guarded by God's power. Lies sleeping the blade to bane al grieving. Past the mountain of boiling stone, over the seas with warm waters, waits the Lionheart, shining ever brightly, rent from time."_

"That's vague." Ardaun shrugged. Seth hit him on the head, looking at Devianor.

"I don't think it iss…" The Bangaa replied, seemingly thinking deeply. "Don't you think sso, Devianor?"

"Hmm…" The Nu Mou sage pondered over the words for some time. Eventually he looked up, smiling. "The Mountain of Boiling Stone. That's Roda Volcano. And the seas with Warm Waters, the southern sea. So if we should head south from Roda Vulcano, we would find these faraway shores shrouded in Mist."

"I believe he's right." Cid nodded. "But I only wonder how we'd get there so fast. A ship will be too slow, certainly if it's 'faraway' shores."

"Nono's airship, kupo!" Montblanc exclaimed. "My little brother's airship is small, and when not loaded, should be able to travel pretty fast!"

"Hey yeah!" Doned agreed. "Totally forgot about Nono's airship. But Montblanc is right. With the airship, the trip would certainly go faster than by boat!"

"So then…" Ritz bit her lip. "I take it we'll try to follow the Lionheart road?" Everybody nodded at the same time. "But what if Griever attacks in the meantime?" Ritz looked questioning to Cid.

"Ah." The Judgemaster smiled. "I've thought about a way to protect the cities. With the help of an old friend of Marche." The doors swung open and everybody turned to see the newly arriving person. Purple robes, an Alchemist-styled hat and a broad smirk decorating the Nu Mou's face.

"Ezel Berbier, self-styled genius, at your service."

Clan Marche looked relieved at the sight of an old friend. Ezel had always been very close friends with Marche, ever since Marche had helped him out. After the greeting had passed, Cid proceeded to explain.

"I asked Mr Ezel the Genius if he could develop a new law card. Griever violates every law, but of course we can't send him to prison. So I asked Ezel if he could develop a law that would teleport Griever away to the ruins of Lutia Pass once a law is violated." The Judgemaster looked at the genius Nu Mou. "Did it go, Mr Berbier?"

"Ah well." Ezel closed his eyes and sighed. "It certainly wasn't easy. I did manage to make this law card, but I'm afraid I only have four copies of it. I'll need loads more of amber if I have to mass-produce these. And I'm afraid that because our poor Marche has become quite a powerful fellow, the law will fade away after being used once."

He handed the law cards to the Judgemaster. Cid studied them and thanked the Nu Mou. "Then us Judges should only use one if a city is attacked. I'll make sure there's permanent judge guard for all cities." He then looked at Ritz. "Hopefully Ezel can make some more laws like these. This should keep the cities relatively safe. Hopefully safe long enough for those that go and find the Lionheart to get the blade and get back here to use it."

"It's the only solution we have to get Marche back alive." Mewt sighed. "I pray it is no legend. But now, we should decide who will go to find the Lionheart."

"I will go." Ritz immediately said. She looked at Shara and Elena. "You two will come with me, right?"

"Of course." They both replied.

"Kupo, count me in!" Montblanc yelled. Seth, Ardaun and Devianor soon followed him.

"Seven should be enough." Mewt concluded. "I'm not coming. I'm needed as Prince."

"But what about me and the others?" Doned asked, looking pleading at Ritz.

"Doned, we don't know what to expect there." Ritz smiled weakly at him. "I'd like it more if you stayed here with the others to help protecting Ivalice from your brother's Griever."

"Then I'll go back to my clan in Ambervale." The boy decided. "And get some more amber for Mr Berbier."

"Ah, that would be nice." Ezel smiled. "I'll tell you exactly what type of amber I need."

"Then it's decided." Judgemaster Cid finished. "Each of us now has a task. And I pray we'll all succeed in it, for the sake of Ivalice and Marche."

Just then, a Judge rushed in. "Your excellency." He saluted to Cid. "Sorry for interrupting, but it's urgent. The Griever has shown up, attacking Sprohm!"

---

Took a while to get this one up, sorry for that. I promise a new chapter soon. Either this week or next week. I'll see when I have time.


	20. Chapter 20: Faraway Shores

Well, I promised to update soon, so here's chapter 20!

**20. Faraway Shores**

Numerous buildings in Sprohm were already in flames. People ran over the streets, screaming. Wounded laid everywhere. Yet, as by a miracle, none had died yet. The town guard in vain tried to defend the city. But there was nothing that could stop the assault of Griever. Its power was to enormous for that. In fact, all the attacks that had hit the Legendary Beast so far, only made it angrier and made the attacks worse.

Griever flew over the city, unleashing destructive blasts everywhere. Why? The Lion didn't know himself, either. He was desperate. Desperate to do something. He wanted to protect Marche from danger. Yet there had been none. He had been flying aimlessly over the country when he had been attacked. His mind had exaggerated it all yet again. Everybody tried to harm Marche! Griever had destroyed everything in sight at that moment. Until his attention was drawn by a big city nearby. That city… It would harm Marche too if it wasn't destroyed in time! And so Griever attacked Sprohm, not realizing the wrong of his ways.

Figures appeared around the Lion. Dragoons that had the intend to jump on him. Griever roared his desperate cry. A cry so powerful it blew the attackers to the ground. All of them. All of them were out to harm Marche. The Lion unleashed a Megaflare at the city. Countless of buildings collapsed. Griever fired attack after attack, not stopping his rampage. All of it would be cleansed. In a world that is cleansed there would be none to harm Marche. Griever spread his mighty wings and flew high in the air, preparing to unleash the mightiest of Flares, as he had done before. This building of men, it would soon be gone from the map, just like that mountain pass.

Numerous strikes of Thundaga, however, interrupted his plan. The anger of the Lion increased yet again. Griever dove towards the ground and landed on it with such force that he caused an earthquake, levelling even more buildings. Griever then prepared to unleash an Ultima spell. Before he could do so, however, a figure in armour appeared right in front of him. Griever wanted to strike this figure down, but before the Lion could act, the figure raised a card of some sorts. Griever screeched in furry as he felt an incredible force bind him, force him to go somewhere else. The Lion tried to fight it, but the power was too forcing. It hurt his mind when he tried to fight him. Griever gave up and was teleported away by the law card.

The Legendary Beast reappeared on the ruins of Lutia Pass. The power that pained his mind disappeared. Griever raised on his hind legs and let out another of his desperate, saddening roars. Tears fell down from his eyes on the rubble of the ruined pass.

---

Judgemaster Cid lowered his arm slowly. He had arrived just in the nick of time. A moment later and even more of Sprohm would have been destroyed by Griever's Ultima. Cid was glad the town guard had been able to prevent Griever from using the frightening Terra Flare, but the city was in a bad condition nonetheless. Cid surveyed the damage and sighed. He knew Marche couldn't help it, but what the boy had carried all this time in side of him was terrible. He saw wounded people of all races laying everywhere, homes destroyed, ruins on fire. A thick, black smoke drifted through many streets. It was far from the worst that could have happened, but that didn't make it any less terrible. Sighing, Cid summoned some Judges to help him get a more detailed sight on the damage and the situation and to help him command the Palace Guard into aiding wherever they can.

Cid let out a deep sigh. The only hope they could think of right now was the Lionheart. He hoped the people that went to the Faraway Shores would find that mythic weapon soon. Very soon. He had only 3 special Law Cards left…

---

"Thank you again, kupo." Montblanc smiled to Nono, patting his little brother on the back. The apprentice Gadgeteer smiled back.

"It's no big deal, kupo. I'm glad I can do something back for Marche for once, kupo!"

A judge had taken them all to Muscadet as soon as the news of Griever's attack had reached them. It didn't take long for them to find Nono and his airship. The young moogle had just finished delivering some more stuff. His airship had been ready for takeoff.

Ritz stood up from the small bench and walked to one of the small windows. Beneath her the scenery of Ivalice passed. Even though the airship was light and flew pretty fast, it just didn't go fast enough for her. Desperately trying to keep calm, she turned to Nono.

"How much longer till we reach Roda Volcano?"

"At this speed?" Nono asked. He stared off in the distance and then at Ritz. "I'd say an hour or two." The moogle then turned all his attention to the steering wheel again and continued navigating the airship safely through the skies.

"Calm down Ritz." Shara remarked, crossing her arms. Ritz closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"I can't help it Shara. Every minute feels like a lost one. I wish we could go even faster!"

"Careful with what you wissh for." Seth groaned. "I remember missty islandss. We all kind of do, right, Devianor, Ardaun, Montblanc?"

Ardaun shivered. "Oh please, don't remind me."

"That was a deep of overconfidence indeed, I'm afraid." Devianor sighed. Ritz studied their faces, then looked at Montblanc, not really understanding. But even the moogle mage took his time to reply, like he didn't want to. Then it hit her.

"Ultima WEAPON…?"

All four of them nodded at the same time. "We were all kind of eager to get our hands on that S-skill, for Marche." Devianor told her. "But then it stood there, the ancient guardian… We were foolish and had went unprepared. We almost ceased to live that day. But Marche saved us all, be it barely. It was a wise lesson for us all."

"Yeah." Ardaun leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "We kinda left in a hurry again today, so that's why we are kind of worried. Even though Marche trained us all, the hard way. We all grew stronger and all and no doubt we can handle Ultima WEAPON now if we would fight it again, but…" He bit his lip. "I have a bad feeling about this. Who knows what awaits us there?"

"Guarded by God's power…" Elena muttered under her breath. A long, dark silence fell over the airship. Ritz gazed out of the window again. Ardaun was right. Finding the Faraway Shores would be the easy part. She found herself foolish. They should have taken their time to prepare. But she realized at the same time that time was something they didn't have at all.

---

"Is the Amber you need only findable in Ambervale?" Doned asked Ezel as they walked through the shiny, beautiful canyons of the Royal Valley. Not too far from them was the second Royal Palace of Ivalice, where Marche had opened Mewt's eyes to the truth and where Marche had found out the truth about the world as well.

"Yes." Ezel smiled. "Sienna Gorge posses some Amber as well, but it isn't as pure as Ambervale's. For such a powerful law, I can use the finest quality only."

"That's not the easiest Amber to fetch." Doned remarked as he hopped onto some stones. He scanned the area. "But can't let that stop me. I got to make myself useful."

"Oh, you're already useful enough by coming with me. You know this place a bit better than me." The self-styled genius shrugged.

"Even I don't know all of it's secrets and stuff." Doned sighed. "But oh well, might as well start looking for my clan first. They usually hang around here somewhere. They can probably help us fetching the amber once we find it."

"If we find it, my boy. This might be the best place in Ivalice to look for, but pure amber is still quite a rare thing to find. I used up my only amount of that stuff making those four law cards. You're brother is quite a demanding fellow!"

"Marche can't help it!" Doned retorted sharply, his frown turning angry.

"Of course not, my boy." Ezel said calmly. "Don't think I'm not troubled by the situation myself. Marche helped me out numerous times before and he's a smart lad. A friend I rather don't loose."

"Then we better find pure amber that will render Griever's power harmless, before clans unite to kill him before Ritz can retrieve the Lionheart…"

---

Mewt sank away in his throne. How he didn't wish to be with Ritz now, as Gilgamesj, aiding her in her search. Instead he now sat here safely inside the Palace, while his people outside were suffering from the fear and the attack of Griever. Here he sat safely, while his best friend had turned into a Griever. Here he sat, safely, while his other best friend was trying to find a mythical blade that was guarded by God's power.

And that, he couldn't bear it. He felt guilty. But he knew his country needed him as a Prince now and he knew that he should be kept safe. But that didn't take away the fact that he wanted to do something. He stood up, but Babus pushed him down again.

"Your highness, please be patient and wait until Lord Cid returns."

"I can't sit here forever Babus!" Mewt said, almost shouting. "People out there need help. And here I am sitting in my throne, doing nothing!"

"I know your Highness wishes to be more active, but please Prince Mewt, do not worry Judgemaster Cid even more by leaving the Palace now. He has enough on his mind."

"I know, I know." The boy let out a deep sigh. "Sometimes I wish Mama was still here, leading the country. I had nothing to worry about then…"

Babus said nothing, but looked at his prince with sympathy. The young prince clenched his fist, but remained silent. He didn't need to say anything anyway, for Babus understood. And Mewt took comfort in that knowledge.

---

"It's misty, alright." Ritz remarked solemnly. Hours and hours of flying that had seemed endless to her. Past the mountain of boiling stone, over the warm southern sea. Day and night had passed. But here, on this island, in the mist, there was no day and night. There was only the Mist and the silence. Not even the waves of the ocean, so close nearby, could be heard. Only the silence and the Mist reigned on the Faraway Shores.

"This place gives me the creeps." Ardaun shivered.

"Yess… I have the feeling that I have sseen this before…" Seth whispered in agreement. Shara and Elena walked up to Ritz, as silent as they could. They felt afraid to break the silence. Like something horrible would happen if they did.

"You alright, Ritz?" Shara asked silently, she could barely be heard.

Ritz only nodded, her face pale. "This place reeks with the stench of death." A shiver ran down her spine. "Is this truly the resting place of the Lionheart?"

Elena scanned her surroundings for a while and then replied: "Yes… There's a path through the Mist. And a presence of ancientness."

Saying not another word, Ritz walked into the Mist, following the Path, that slowly ran upwards to a hole in the mountain in the centre of the island.

"Stay in the airship, kupo." Montblanc hissed to his little brother, before running off into the mist to catch up with the others.

Ritz said nothing to the others, it was like she had forgotten them, as she walked further and further into the Mist. They had found the island so fast and so easily. How come nobody had come here sooner to claim the legendary blade? The stench of death frightened her. It seeped into every inch of her body. It was almost like the island wanted them to be there. It seemed to have called to them. Invited them. But only to draw them into the thick mist. Despite her fears, Ritz continued to follow the path. She couldn't see the sun. She could barely see her friends behind her. Her Femme Fatale didn't shimmer brightly at her side. Everything here was dark and dead.

Too easy. It had been too easy and too fast to come here. Something wasn't right. The presence of death and ancientness was everywhere. A trap, it had been a trap. Something had lured them here. They had been fooled. Too easy. They had been blinded by the easy path. By the path that appeared friendly.

All of these were thoughts that haunted Ritz's mind.

Too fast, too easy. Her thoughts remained dark and foggy, like the Mist. Her heart sank with every step. It had been too easy. The death had invited them. What was here? What kind of creature waited for them? When would it show itself? What guarded the Lionheart? What caused the stench of death? Why was there only Mist and Silence here? Here, on an island that held a Holy Blade?

An entryway.

It was carved into the side of the mountain and had appeared suddenly in front of Ritz. She hadn't noticed it because of the Mist, which had been too thick. It was enormous, easily trice the size of Griever, and richly decorated with carvings and ancient runes that everybody in the world had forgotten the meaning of. Ritz hesitated.

Too easy.

An image of Marche flashed in her mind. Everything that had happened came by in her mind again. She clenched her jaw and set a step forward to the entryway. She glanced behind her. The others were standing there, silent. For a moment her determination and courage returned and she felt warm again. But as soon as she stepped through the porch, it was gone again. A long, dark staircase, leading down into the depths of the earth welcomed her. It took all her efforts to set the first step downwards. Her feet seemed heavy.

Too fast.

They descended into the earth, soon swallowed entirely by darkness. Montblanc created a fire that gave them light in the thick shadow. They glanced at each other. All of them seemed afraid. Ritz saw Marche again. The Fencer gazed at her feet, then at the others. Then she asked the only question she could ask at a moment like this:

"Do you still want to follow me?"

And all of them shouted at her that they refused to turn back. They had to go on. For Marche. No matter how thick the Mist and Shadow was, no matter what bringer of death lurked there, they would continue. For their friend and for each other. And that was the spark that was needed to lit the fire of their courage again. There bodies became warm again, the thickening shadows released their grip. The staircase was suddenly lit by numerous torches, all the way down.

From the deepest reaches, to where the stone staircase led, a powerful presence floated up towards them. It was ancient and it called to them. It begged them to go further, to go deeper. It wanted them there, far below.

Ardaun swallowed hard. "Something is expecting us…"

---

Yay, cliffhanger-ish stuff! Hope you liked the chapter. It wasn't an easy one to write, but I'm still glad with how it turned out.

On to the next chapter! Just what is awaiting Ritz and the others at the end of the staircase?


	21. Chapter 21: Power of the Gods

Long delay, what can I say? To make up for it a bit, this chapter is quite long, so enjoy the read!

**21. Power of the Gods**

Slowly they descended further into the earth. The staircase seemed to go on forever. The warmth of their friendship and determination was what kept them going, however and the stench of death and fear had left them, no longer affecting them. Yet they were still cautious. There was something down there, something that waited for them. And whatever it was, they all knew it meant trouble. After a small eternity, Ritz gasped. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, swallowing hard.

"I see the end of our descent…"

Those words had barely left her lips, of a long, chilling hiss came from the depths, passing them and chilling them to the bone. Then they could hear something rapidly approaching. They drew their weapons, but those were of no help. For all that approached was a stream of thick mist that passed them as quickly as the hiss had done. Then it was silent again. After a long tensed moment of waiting, they relaxed.

"Jeez, this is bad for my nerves." Ardaun cursed. "If this continues, I'll go nuts."

"Let's just hurry downstairs, before we all go nuts." Ritz decided. "Even if something terrible waits down there, at least we can see it then."

Her companions nodded, they couldn't agree more. Ritz took her Femme Fatale firmly in her right hand, then rushed downstairs, followed quickly by Shara and Elena, Seth and Ardaun and finally Montblanc and Devianor.

When they arrived downstairs, however, they were in for a surprise. They arrived in an enormous cavern, so large they could barely see the other side. Numerous pillars supported the black roof of the cavern, the space between the pillars being a firm ten metres. The cavern shimmered in ancient, mysterious light and the companions could feel how old this all was. They were filled with deep respect. For a long time they just stood there, amazing themselves with the sight. Ritz was the first to act again. She slowly set a step in the cavern. The noise of that one footstep seemed to echo forever. The cavern seemed to react however. The ground shook slightly, and in the very centre of the room, a pillar of light fell down from a sudden crack in the ancient ceiling. The light shone on a stone altar, covered with a red carpet with golden borders that slowly rose from the ground. And on it laid the prize they had come here for. From were they stood, they could only see that there was a sword lying there, but as they got closer, the better they could see the Lionheart. It reflected the light that fell down from the ceiling brilliantly and it looked brand new, like it hadn't been laying here for thousand years, waiting for a wielder, at all. The closer they got, the more Ritz started to notice how odd its design was.

"Shara…" She leaned closer to her Viera friend. "Is this truly the Lionheart? It doesn't look like a Viera weapon to me."

Shara bit her lip. "You're right, in a way. But this isn't just a Viera weapon. It is a weapon for all races, a weapon for a person who's beloved is a Griever, whatever race he or she may be. It is just that the first person that used this blade was a Viera. And none other than that one Viera has used it, so that is why this blade is associated with our race, even though that's not fully correct."

"Makes sense." Ritz admitted.

"And does it also make sense…" Ardaun interrupted, his voice tensed. "That this legendary blade is right in front of our nose in a cavern that's completely empty? What, am I the only one who has a very bad feeling about this?" They all stared at him, silent. "Guess not…" The Ninja replied, slightly embarrassed.

"But bad feeling or not, I'm going to try and take it. Might as well try now, when there's apparently nothing that could hinder us." Ritz said and she stepped forward, to the altar. But with respect, for she could not feel anything but that when she approached the altar and the great blade that rested on it. The Fencer stretched her hand towards the blade, but hesitated. She observed it a bit better. The blade itself was made of transparent blue crystal, but the handle was that of a gun, black in colour and the gun barrel was made of the finest mythril, having a slight silver colour. The handle was decorated on top with a pair of wings, but if they were angel or devil wings was hard to say. Then Ritz noticed they looked like Griever's wings.

"Amazing, kupo." Montblanc said, as he hopped on the altar, but avoided touching the blade. "I never believed I actually would get to see one, kupo, but here before me lies a gunblade, kupo! And a legendary one at that!"

"A gunblade?" Ritz glanced at the moogle, confused.

"Yeah kupo. It is said that long ago, in the time of the greatest kings of Ivalice, Mog Knights were armed with gunblades, kupo. It was a very safe way of fighting, kupo, having both ranged Gunner as close-combat Knight abilities. The moogle engineers from back them created these type of swords. But now gunblades are a rare thing kupo and this is the first one I see in my life."

"So does that mean the Lionheart wasn't created by the gods but by moogles?" The Fencer asked. Montblanc shrugged.

"Who knows, kupo? But everybody can say that this is no ordinary sword on the first kupo glance."

"I suppose you're right." Ritz replied. She took a deep breath. "Now, enough talk, let's try retrieving it."

And for the second time, Ritz stretched her hand towards the legendary blade which she hoped would cut Marche free from his terrible fate as a Griever. But as soon as her fingers touched the cold handle of the blade, the cavern started to shake, a lot more violent than ever before. They heard that chilling hiss again, and from the altar erupted a huge wave of mist, which knocked them all backwards.

"On faraway shores, shrouded by Mist. On ancient soil, guarded by God's power. Lies sleeping the blade to bane al grieving. Past the mountain of boiling stone, over the seas with warm waters, waits the Lionheart, shining ever brightly, rent from time."

The mist started to gather and slowly began taking form. The form of a almighty opponent. More and more mist gathered and was absorbed by the growing figure, until finally, a monstrous head erupted from the mist. It was menacing and reptilian, with blue tentacles erupting from the back of the head just before the neck. Its mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth, ready to rip anything it could catch to shreds. The head was followed by a strong neck and a pair of arms, each with a hand that had three clawed fingers. Than game the front legs, the reptilian body, the hind legs and finally a massive reptilian tale. The back of the creature was covered with golden, spiked armour that continued further so that it covered the neck and head of the creature as well. The spikes of the armour were so long that one could easily impale Ritz, Shara and Elena at the same time. Underneath the armour, in the flesh of the creature, Ritz could swear she saw moving gears, like the creature was partly a machine. It was huge, trice as tall as them, even though it walked on four legs. In total, the beast looked like a lion crossed with a dragon, the look so fitting for the guardian of the Lionheart gunblade. Then the creature spoke.

_"My name is Omega. I am a power both ancient and unrivalled. Bleed I shall not, for I am but strength given form. Feeble creatures of flesh…Thee who thirst for the blade's power…Your time is nigh!!!"_

Ritz gasped. They all gasped. The guardian of the Lionheart was Omega WEAPON itself. Omega tilted back its head and let out a thunderous roar, so loud that it shook the cavern itself. The roar seemed to awaken the cavern, as the soft, mysterious glow disappeared and fierce fire started to burn all across the cavern, also blocking off the staircase, their only escape route should they have needed one.

Omega didn't waste any time and immediately attacked, sending crackling bolts of Thundaja their way. They were so amazed and shocked by the sight and feeling of power the beast gave them, that they did not realize the danger coming to hem. The powerful magic hit them fully, shocking and scorching all of them. The shock made them all come to their senses, however and they immediately scattered. Devianor sent forth spells of Curaga to all of them and they recovered from Omega's deadly attack. Seth, Ardaun, Elena and Ritz attacked the beast, which stood over the Lionheart as a terribly fierce guardian, from all sides. They jumped on it and slashed at it with their weapons, but the ancient beast's scales were harder than even Zodiac alloy. They could not even scratch it. At the same time Omega's tail swung through the air and smacked them all either against pillars or through the scorching flames the WEAPON had called forth. Omega advanced on Ritz, the cave trembling under every footstep. She gasped and got on her legs, jumping away just in time, for the guardian fired of a huge beam of energy from its deadly jaws. It went after her again and she grew afraid, for her Femme Fatale would not even tickle the beast. Just as it gained on her, an arrow hit it in its neck, bouncing of the golden armour. It turned its head and a second arrow managed to slightly pierce one of the blue tentacles that decorated the monster's head. It hissed annoyed, Omega's gaze now fixed itself upon Shara. It prepared to fire another beam of energy, this time at the Sniper, but a Giga Flare spell engulfed Omega's head, making it miss. The Giga Flare seemed to have scorched the beats a bit, but what it had succeeded in doing very much was annoying it and making it more angry.

"Oh dear." Devianor sighed. "It appears we have a problem."

"No." Ardaun retorted, slashing at Omega again. "We're screwed!"

"We can't give up, kupo!" Montblanc insisted. "Haste!" He cast the Time Magic on all of his allies and himself, giving them speedier movements and sharper reflexes. This was a tremendous aid, for Omega was far from a pushover. The WEAPON and straightened his back, letting out his fearsome roar again, before unleashing twisted energy beams at all of them at the same time, an attacked that was long ago known as 'Wave Cannon'. In the days long forgotten it was well known amongst the fiercest of enemies, but now only the Gods and the WEAPONs remembered it.

Ritz threw herself on the floor, feeling the wave of energy pass straight over her. This was insane. She had expected a guardian, even a powerful guardian, but this she never dared to think of. It seemed even more powerful than Ultima WEAPON which Marche certainly had described to her more than once.

"How can we beat this thing? Our weapons don't even scratch it, it barely feels our magic… Nothing seems to damage it and it has us on the run."

She saw Ardaun ducking behind a pillar to avoid the energy wave that was sent his way. "Ardaun, was Ultima this powerful?!"

The Ninja shook his head hastily. "No, that was child's play compared to this!" At that moment, however, the pillar he was hiding after shattered into pieces and he was blown across the hall, flying through fires and finally coming to halt roughly against a pillar. He fell on the ground and did not move. He still breathed but was unconscious.

They had now one person less to fight the WEAPON.

Seth saw what happened to his friend and became enraged. He bravely jumped on the back of the WEAPON. He charged his fist and brought it down with all his might on the creature.

"Air Render!"

The attack was powerful and finally Omega became brutally aware of the fact that it was being attacked. Though his ancient golden armour protected him from getting wounded by the Monk's attack, he still felt it and that enraged him. The might tail of the creature sung through the air, but Seth ducked in time. Ritz glanced at Omega, more precisely the armour covering the gears that were embedded and functioning in his flesh.

"Seth, the gears! Attack the gears!"

"Got to crack the armour for that first!" She shouted back, before he was knocked of by a quick strike of Omega's tail. He landed straight in front of the creature, which brought down its mighty head and closed his crushing jaws. Yet he only was able to crush the arm of the Bangaa in his jaws, for Seth had been quick enough to roll away. Yet he was not yet safe, for Omega's arms and claws were ready to rip him apart. He was distracted when a Nighthaw crashed in the side of its head. Omega roared in fury, releasing Seth's arm, who was immediately dragged away by Elena and Devianor. Shara fired one arrow after another, which distracted the guardian while Ritz tried to hurt Omega in his side, while observing the armour and gears o his back as well.

"With every attack or spell it uses, those gears shine with energy and turn with rapid speed." She thought. "It is how it functions… If we could just destroy its inner mechanism, the entire beast should be stopped…" She did a back flip to avoid Omega's tail and then shouted:

"Everybody aim for the armour on the back! Shatter it and we'll shatter its gears! That will stop it!"

Omega turned around and fixed its piercing gaze on her.

"_You have passed wisdom. But you shan't pass power. The Mind and Flesh of you Creatures is__ too weak. Unworthy for the blade you desire, you are, power-hungry hume." _

Then he fired of an incredible spell, the power and essence of it so forbidden, so ancient and so terrifyingly powerful, that only one clan of mortals had seen it before. For this spell was Omega, cleansing and destroying everything it touched, like Ultima, but the way of it so much more impure and painful. The spell expanded itself all around the guardian, the dome of dark energy approaching them all swiftly. Pillar and ground were scorched by the terrifying force, but remained standing, for so they were designed. But the warriors of flesh had no such luck, they were born and designed to be mortal and destroyable. And they ran, ran for their lives. They no longer had any hope, they were simply terrified. But even though their legs were carrying them like the underworld itself was on their heels, the spell Omega caught up with hem, engulfed them and burned them. Ritz was used to pain, at least this tremendous pain was dark, horrendous and swift, unlike her forever torture at the hands of the Necromancer. The Omega spell drew them deeper in itself, the overflow of energy being too much for them too handle, then it exploded with terrifying might. Where she landed Ritz didn't really know. What she did know, however, was that there apparently was no hope for survival, least of all victory. Omega's footsteps made the cave tremble. It was approaching her.

The WEAPON had noticed that the strongest were still conscious even after the spell, most of all Ritz. While her body fiercely burned, she still was fully aware of everything going on around her. She was strong enough for that. But Omega was moving in for the kill. There was no Judge here ad this was a lawless battle, a battle to death. And it pained but above all made Ritz angry, that they had not been able to even make a scratch on the guardian. She clenched her jaw and her fist fiercely held her Femme Fatale. She could feel the beast's breath on her neck.

"_This is thy end. Perish."_

It stretched out its arms to grab her and tear her apart, but with all the might she could bring up, she rolled on her back and lashed out with her rapier. And, miraculously, she cut through the softer scales of the arms, making a small cut in both of them. Omega roared, slightly taken back. No mortal ever had been able to even scratch him, but now here he stood, with two small cuts in his arms and small drops of blood falling on the floor. In this creature of flesh he could feel a spirit burning with strength, strength which the creature used to desperately cling on to life. The guardian found that interesting, but it would not stop him. Only the one that could kill him was allowed to take up the Lionheart. And even with such might that desperately held on to life, she would not kill him. He had shown his might and could show it again and again. Omega advanced again and Ritz got on her legs, almost feeling her muscles tear when she did that. But she did not run. With a cry of fury, she rushed towards Omega WEAPON, her weapon ready in her hand. And the ancient monster laughed at this attempt at suicide. He opened his maw and unleashed another Wave Cannon. Ritz had expected that, however and jumped. She landed straight on top of Omega's head and stabbed, but her rapier could not pierce the godly armour. She didn't give up and slashed at the unprotected blue tentacles, finally cutting deep. Omega roared, his temper rocketing through the roof. He shook his head wildly and swung his tail, but Ritz ducked and held on to one of the many deadly spikes covering Omega's armour. When Omega's tail swung again, she blasted it away with Nighthawk. Omega staggered on his hind legs, but even that could not throw her off. Ritz cast Heavy Dust, the rocks smashing straight on Omega's head, but not making even the smallest crack. The WEAPON became more and more blazingly mad when with each attempt Ritz only held on tighter. She created a Fire Whip and smacked Omega's head with it, hitting it in the eye. This was getting ridiculous, according to the WEAPON. If he could not get her off, he would hold her forever! He let out another monstrous roar and charged his energy, his body radiating with his force and his gears spinning madly. This activity send a shock through Omega's body, throwing Ritz of balance long enough for Omega's head tentacles to grab her and wrap themselves around the arms, legs and neck of the Fencer, wrenching tighter and tighter with each passing minute. Ritz choked, she was getting no air. She felt one of the blue tentacles wrapping itself around her waist, intending to crush her backbone. The air was squeezed out of her body and with it a long painful scream.

Then the crushing and tight feeling disappeared, as somebody stroke firmly with her katana, cutting of the monstrosities that were squeezing all life out of Ritz. She fell on the ground and coughed, while a crippled Seth dragged her off while Montblanc cast Firaga on the still squirming tentacles. Elena retreated from cutting off Omega's tentacles, but was immediately replaced by a newly conscious Ardaun, who swung both his blades at the side of Omega's monstrous head, cutting twice on the same place, making a relatively deep cut. Before Omega could grab and devour him with his jaws however, a Far Fist slammed his head upwards , making him recoil in pain and showing the less-hard skin of his throat. Perfect for Sara to unleash her double shot on. Omega screeched under all this pain. It had been foolish. The guardian had been so busy crushing the creature with the strong spirit that he had forgotten the others and had lowered his guard. Now he paid this price dearly, for never before creatures of flesh had cut so deeply in his energized body.

Devianor cast Curaga on Ritz, which gave her enough strength to stand again. The others had been distracting Omega, continuously attacking him for all sides. Ritz got an idea. It was worth a try.

"Everybody, attack him at the same time with EVERYTHING you've got!" She screamed over all the loud noises of the battle. Montblanc then pulled of the most amazing self-made technique of Time Magic seen yet. He raised his staff and shouted: "All-Quicken!". This spell not only gave the power of Quicken to another person than the caster, but at the same time to everybody in range. Ritz felt the speed built up in her, but she waited. She had to hold back until the right moment.

The others used their quickened state to surround Omega at the same time, faster than the eye could see. Six Judge Points flashed and then all of them, except for Ritz, together performed a deadly combo and they knew exactly where they were aiming. Against so many powers combined even armour harder than Zodiac Ore had to perish and so The six of them delivered strike after strike at the same point until finally, a huge crack appeared in Omega's armour. The creature howled in pain as its energy started to leak out. The power of the Judge Points faded and Omega crashed against the ground. It stood trembling on its legs, howling and roaring, as if wanting to unleash all it had but could not because of unbearable pains. And so it did not notice the figure with a charged rapier above it, ready to deliver the Final Blow.

"Finishing Move!" Ritz shouted on top of her lungs, throwing her Femme Fatale with all the strength she had left to bring up. The weapon pierced through the enemy and embedded itself in the ancient, energy-filled mechanism of the weapon. Then the energy was unleashed and Omega's system that kept it going was destroyed together with the Femme Fatale. Ritz fell down to the ground again, but the guardian swung its tale for a final time and smacked Ritz on the floor in front of him, before he started to explode and a wave of energy rush out to all sides. The others managed to hide but for Ritz it was too late. The ware of Omega's energy came down crushingly on her. There was a flash of brilliant white light.

And then she had the feeling that she floated in nothingness. Everything around her was white. And then she heard a voice, deep, ancient, but no longer cruel and spiteful.

"_Thee have killed me. You are deemed worthy. I bestow upon thee the class for all races, so that thou might wield the __Blade of Lions to its full potential. Thou are worthy of it, Creature of Flesh, slayer of Omega…"_

And then she stood on solid ground again, straight in front of the altar on which the Lionheart rested, a silent witness of the grand battle that had just taken place. The others slowly approached from their hidings. Ritz turned her attention on the blade. She stretched her hand towards her, her fingers finally grabbing the handle of the blade without there being a price to pay for that. She slowly raised it from its resting place. It was large, almost as large as Marche's Ultima Weapon, yet still light and comfortable to wield. She took it in her hand better, one of her fingers automatically gliding to the silver trigger of the gunblade. She took a deep breath and then pulled the blade fully free of its altar's resting place. And at the same moment she did that, her old Fencer clothes and armours exploded softly, revealing a totally new outfit.

She wore a black shirt with a black skirt that came almost to her knees. Comfortable black socks fitted tightly around her feed and legs. She now wore black thigh boots, almost coming to her skirt, of which the fronts were covered with silver metal. Over her body now was a light armour, apparently made out of the same silver as the protection on her boots. She now noticed that even her skirt had silver strips on it here and there. She wore fingerless gloves of which the backs were covered with silver as well, running all the way till halfway her arm. On her shoulders and elbows she had silver armour as well. She knew what this was made of: Zodiac Alloy. Around her neck there was tied a long dark blue scarf, that flowed behind her like a thin cape. She had two belts around her waist, hanging a bit loosely. On one of them it was clear that she could sheath the Lionheart. She stood there, with the Lionheart still raised, gazing in awe at herself and the blade she now was allowed to wield. After a long silence, she lowered the blade and turned around, facing the others, who appeared to be fully healed as well.

"What exactly is this?" She asked, gesturing to her new outfit. Devianor did a step closer and studied her a bit. Then his face lit up.

"Of course." He smiled. "A class for all races that can use the Lionheart, a gunblade, to its full potential…"

"Wait a second, kupo." Montblanc squeaked. "You mean she has received…?"

"The power of a 'Gunblade Specialist' indeed." Devianor nodded.

"I've heard of it." Shara agreed. "But like the Ultima Knight, this class has disappeared from common usage a long time ago."

Ritz gave herself a last quick study, then sighed. She sheathed the Lionheart at her left hip. "Whatever I have obtained are concerns for later. We should return to Ivalice as fast as we can and free Marche from his Griever!"

"Right!" They cried as one man. Ritz rushed past them, towards the stairs and they didn't waste any time thinking and ran after her.

---

That's chapter 21 and we're nearing the end of Path to Forgiving. I know I made you all wait for a long time, but the chapter is here at last. Now I have 2 months of vacation ahead of me (school's out!) and in those two months this fanfic is most likely to come to an end. Please forgive me the delay, drop a review and see ya around for the next chapter!

If you want to know how Omega WEAPON looks, when writing this I had 'Atma Weapon' from Final Fantasy VI. If you search google, you're bound to find an image of it.


	22. Chapter 22: The Heart of the Lion

Yay, an update! We're almost at the end!

**22. The heart of the Lion**

"We can't hold this for long." A judge shouted. The next moment he had to quickly teleport away for an incredible MegaFlare hit the spot he just had been standing on. A massive explosion rocked the battlefield and debris flew in all directions.

"But we have to!" Cid replied. "We can't allow the city to be destroyed."

"Lord Cid, if we could just go all out on the monster, we wouldn't have so much trouble!" A bangaa templar pointed out. But Cid shook his head.

"We must not act the same way as thousand years ago. We must not kill the Griever, or the soul inside."

"But at this rate we'll be destroyed, together with the city."

Cid had no time to reply. Griever unleashed a destructive Ultima spell and the defenders of Baguba had to run for safety. Barely an hour ago the judges, town and palace guard had been alarmed when the Legendary Beast had shown up, still enraged and deeply grieving. They had been successful in stopping every attempt of Griever to use his terrifying Terra Flare, but Griever non-stop attacked regardless. It did not need its mass destructing Terra Flare to cause an enormous ravage.

"Hold your ground!" Cid commanded. "Try to lure Griever away from Baguba at all costs!"

Even airships, small ones, were used in the battle, at least for a while. Cid had ordered them to retreat however, for the airships could not flee as easily as the defenders on the ground. The Judgemaster did not want any deaths.

Griever had attacked many times in the past two days. So many times that Cid had quickly ran out of Ezel's special law cards. This morning the genius had returned from Ambervale with as much Amber as possible, but even so making the law cards was a difficult and slow task. It had taken Ezel three hours to make one and even that one Cid was forced to put to use quickly. Now Griever was attacking Baguba and Cid did not have any law cards that could stop Griever. It was up to the judges, the clans and the soldiers this time. Cid hoped he could buy enough time for Ezel to deliver another law card, they really needed it now. Or perhaps he could hold off Griever long enough for Ritz and the others to return, hopefully with the Lionheart. It had been almost a day and a half since Ritz had departed for the faraway shores. And not a word of them ever since. But Cid could not stand still and worry about them. His current worries laid with the battle. Griever never stopped attacking, never seemed to weaken. The Judgemaster had no hope of ever stopping the Beast, but he knew the least he could do was prevent, or at least minimize it as much as possible, any damage being caused to Baguba or the other cities of Ivalice, which seemed to be a prime target of Griever.

Griever was diving towards them for another attack and everywhere commands to spread out were shouted. As Cid hid behind a wall, two figures appeared out of nowhere next to him. Doned and Ezel. As Ezel started to say something, a MegaFlare beam zoomed over their heads.

"Oh dear." The genius sighed. "This is clearly not the place for me. But at any rate Judgemaster, I came here to give you the next card." Ezel handed the Judgemaster his newly made law card and teleported away again, but Doned stayed behind. He peeked from behind the wall to look at Griever. The boy nearly got tears in his eyes when he saw the sight.

"Brother…" He whispered sobbingly. Marche, or rather, Griever, did not notice Doned at all and continued his onslaught. Cid laid a hand on his shoulder for a brief moment, and then demanded that Doned retreated into the city. The boy, casting a last look on Griever, reluctantly did. Or so it seemed. In reality he sneaked into a guard tower that led towards the town wall and from there, hiding behind the reeling, he continued to follow the battle.

Cid meanwhile had appeared on the battlefield again, preparing to use the law card and thus transporting Griever to the ruins of Lutia Pass. Just when he wanted to do that however, there was a lot of commotion and people pointed to the sky. It was an airship and Cid swore under his breath. Hadn't he ordered all airships to retreat? But then he looked better and saw that it wasn't just any airship.

It was Nono's airship.

---

Ritz stood on the deck of the airship, the Lionheart firmly in her hand. She took a deep breath and looked down in the skies below, where Marche, or rather, Griever flew, eying the airship distrusting. It pained her to see Marche like that. Even from this distance she could stare in Griever's eyes. Desperate, sad, angry and enraged. She clenched the blade even firmer in her hand. Slowly she walked to the edge of the deck.

"Ritz!" Shara called to her, but the Gunblade Specialist ignored her Viera friend's call. She glanced briefly at Shara.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing. This just feels right…" And with that, Ritz leaped off the airship, falling straight to Griever. The Lion was too startled to move and Ritz landed on Griever's shoulder, trying to catch her balance.

"Marche, it's me, Ritz." She whispered soothingly. Griever wildly turned his head and shook her off, roaring loudly and angrily. Ritz fell through the air, straight to the ground, but she managed to keep herself calm. Griever dove at her, probably moving in for the kill, but when he raised his paw to slash her, she grabbed it and swung herself on his shoulder again.

"Marche, I know you're there!" Ritz pleaded. "Griever, let me talk to Marche, please!"

The Legendary Beast snorted and tried to shake her off again, but this time she held on firmly. The Lion lashed out with his paw, but Ritz managed to avoid it.

"I'm not here to harm Marche, Griever. I want to help him, trust me!" It had no effect, Griever just continued to try and get rid off Ritz, getting more and more frustrated at every failed attempt. "If you kill me you'll make Marche sad, Griever!" Ritz warned. For a moment the Lion hesitated. She caught the Lion's gaze and was taken back by the sadness in them, even more overwhelming now that she stood so close to the Lion. But she did not break the gaze. Her heart told her it was important to keep it intact. She tried to gaze at Griever as calming and soothing as she could in the sight of such overwhelming sadness and despair. The Lion did not move anymore. Ritz and Griever just gazed in each others eyes.

"Please Griever…" The girl sighed. "One chance to talk to Marche, to help him. That's all I ask… I know you want to help him. I want to help him too. Will you allow me?"

The Lion just stared.

"You saved my life once, when you were just born. You remember that? Marche asked you to, I'm sure. He wanted you to save me because he knew I could help him." She reached out with her hand. Griever snarled, but did nothing. Slowly she placed her hand on Griever's forehead. There, in the middle of the air, standing on the shoulder of the most destructive creature Ivalice ever knew, Ritz comforted the Legendary Beast. The warmth that came from her calming touch spread through Griever's enraged body and soothed his sorrows. Griever growled softly, but then flew done slowly and landed softly on solid ground. Everybody gasped. Judgemaster Cid raised his hand to halt all movements. Ritz jumped of Griever's shoulder and showed her blade to the Lion.

"You know what this is. Somehow I know you do." Griever did nothing when Ritz touched his chest with the tip of the Lionheart. "Will you let me see Marche?"

The Legendary Beast said nothing, but somehow Ritz knew that he allowed her. She closed her eyes and focussed. She gripped her blade firmly and then, with al her Might, slashed Griever with it. But the Lion did not even roar in pain. It remained completely silent. There was a blinding flash of light and then Ritz was no longer in Ivalice.

She was inside Griever's soul.

Nervous but feeling slight victorious that she at least had made it this far, Ritz looked around. Her surroundings were not solid and ghastly shaped. She was in a long, dark blue hallway of some sorts. The entire thing was filled with despair and sadness that weighed down heavily on Ritz. She set a step forward, her feet apparently standing on something solid. She too ka deep breath and started walking. At the end of the hall there was light.

As the Gunblade specialist walked on and on, things passed her. Nothing visible, but something else. Flashes of memories, Ritz thought. She could feel how Griever felt, and how he had felt at the moments that flashed by. When he was just born, all he wanted was protect Marche by keeping the boy inside him. But the further she walked on, the darker the thoughts and desires became. From protecting Marche came the desire to protect Marche by whipping out all living beings that could possible be a treat to Marche. Ritz understood that Griever could not help but think this way, as all his mind knew, and she learned that once again by the memories that flashed by, was despair, sadness and destruction.

After a long while, how long exactly she did not know, the shapeless tunnel came to an end, and in front of her there was an enormous wall of fire, blocking her path. She didn't know what it was at first. Ritz slowly stepped towards it and the heat flew over her, almost overwhelming her. This fire was strong, incredibly strong. Stronger than any fire she had ever seen. And she realized what it was. Deep under all the sadness and grieving she just had walked through, there burned this fire.

"This is Griever's fiery desire to protect Marche. His pure feeling, desire… Not his destruction or pain." She closed her eyes and bowed her head, smiling. "This is a honest fire, not intending to harm or destroy, only protect…"

Ritz did a few steps back, then ran towards the fire and jumped. It wouldn't harm her, somehow she knew that. Like somehow she knew Griever would allow her to enter his soul. There was so much, concerning the Grievers that she suddenly knew. Ritz passed through the flames. It was hot, incredibly hot, but not painful. She bit on her teeth as she passed through and then she was on the other side. Another incredible white flash blinded her for a brief moment and then she was no longer in Griever's soul. She stood in a huge, white and empty space, that seemed to go on and on and she understood where she was.

No longer in Griever's soul, but in Marche's.

She had expected that the soul of the boy she loved so much would be filled with twisted emotions, both hating and loving towards her. She had expected to see memories again, but that was not the case. The room was completely empty. Except for one thing. In the distance, and somehow she knew it was the centre of Marche's soul, laid a figure on the, for the lack of a better word, floor. Ritz an towards it without thinking. Her gasp echoed through the empty space.

"Marche…!" She fell on her knees next to the figure that was Marche. He appeared to be sleeping. She touched his forehead. It was cold to touch and Ritz shivered. But as she touched the boy and shivered, she also could feel something else. From within the figure, warmth, friendship, love. The Marche she had always known, the Marche she loved. This was the real him. She shook him gently.

"Marche?"

"He won't wake up." A new voice snorted. Ritz jumped on her feet and spun around with her Lionheart ready. Her eyes went wide as she looked straight at a _second_ Marche. But this Marche had cold and hard eyes and a smirk on his face that could only be described as evil. And she could feel the intense hatred towards her coming from him. And she realized that this was the second part of Marche's soul. The violent, hating, evil aspect. The part that had controlled Marche's body for so long, until she had awakened the real Marche again with her kiss.

"What do you mean, he won't wake up?" Ritz snarled. Marche grinned darkly

"After Griever hatched we were locked inside his soul. And after a long battle, I knocked him out cold." Marche patted the handle of his Ultima Weapon. "He'll stay like that for a long while."

"You sickening freak." Ritz spat. "How can you do this to a part of yourself?!"

"That part…" Marche sneered in disgust, pointing to the unconscious Marche on the floor. "Is a sickening weakling! Our body should be controlled by a strong soul, not a weakling like him!"

"The kind Marche is the rightful owner of your body." Ritz replied, enraged. "It has always been that way, until you just had to show up!"

"And whose fault is that, whitey-locks?" Marche's grin widened. "It's your fault I grew in power in the first place. You can only blame yourself!"

Ritz had enough of it. She gripped the Lionheart tightly. "If you are the result of my mistakes, then I believe it's time I correct my mistakes for once and for all!" And with those words, she charged at him with all her might., determined to defeat and destroy that part of Marche that never belonged in the kind boy's soul in the first place.

---

You know what this means, right? Indeed, next chapter is Final Battle time! So, till the next chapter. I hope I can get it up soon.


	23. Chapter 23: Salvation

This is it, the Final Battle! I hope I did well. After this, only one chapter remains. So, enjoy!

**23. Salvation**

Ritz charged at Marche and attacked with her Lionheart. Marche blocked her slash and a contest of pure psychical strength followed, their blades locked against each other while each of the two tried to overpower the other. But, while her Lionheart was much better suited for a direct swordfight with Marche's Ultima Weapon, Ritz new she would never be able to match him in pure strength. She did a back flip and Marche stumbled out of balance for a small second. As she landed on her feet, she pulled the trigger of her gunblade, firing a shot of energy at Marche. The hate regained his balance just in time to raise his own sword and block it, and then charged at her. She blocked his blade and used it and her own sword to push herself of the ground and jump over him. Quickly she turned around and stroke with her Lionheart, while Marche did the same. Their blades met, but Ritz fired another shot, which sent a wave of energy through her blade that blew Marche back. He landed gracefully on both feet, seemingly unharmed.

"Not bad." He grinned wickedly. The way he said those words, it made it seem like he had not even been trying. But Ritz knew better. He was trying to intimidate her. She would not let him and without saying a single word, she attacked him again. Marche shrugged and blocked her swipe with his sword, not even using both hands. A series of sword strikes followed, each blocking the other again and again. They collided again, trying to overpower the other for a short period, and then both jumped away from each other.

"You may have that fancy new blade, but you have no experience with it." Marche noted. "You're a fencer, not a swordsman."

"Can't be too hard." She retorted. "This sharp tip of my blade simply needs to be shoved into your wretched body."

Marche let out a low, chilling laugh. But Ritz didn't flinch. She was too filled with determination, hate and disgust. Hate and disgust for that sick part of Marche that never should have been. Marche readied his Ultima Weapon, still laughing.

"Let's see if you can get that point in me." His eyes got a dark look in them, and Ritz readied her Lionheart. "Enough with playing around!" Marche snarled. "You're in for a SHOCK!"

With a mighty swing Marche unleashed a full force Shock attack, the deadly energy rapidly approaching Ritz. She jumped out of the way and fired at Marche, who simply blocked her shots. But while in the defence, he couldn't halt her approach. She lashed out with her gunblade, aiming for his throat, but Marche managed to knock her Lionheart out of the way. He then raised his sword and brought it down full force again, all this happening in a mere second. Even though she reacted quickly enough to raise her blade, Ritz had to give away under Marche's superior strength. She landed on the ground and he kicked her away, quickly unleashing yet another Shock. Ritz managed to roll out of the way, but Marche appeared above her again, having a Climhazzard ready. Ritz fired a powerful shot at him with her blade, blasting him away. While sailing through the air, Marche fired another Shock in her direction. Ritz did a back flip to avoid it, firing with her blade again as well. Both landed gracefully on their feet and then they shot each other deadly glares.

"How are you so able to dodge my Shock?!" Marche demanded angrily.

"Marche and I practiced this before." Ritz replied, smiling sweetly. "What's the matter? Afraid this pointy blade will pierce your chest after all?"

"Silly human." Marche retorted. He raised his blade, as did Ritz. "I say, we make this even more fun!"

Marche jumped into the air faster than Ritz could react. He raised his sword high above his head and gathered power. Then he speeded towards the ground like a bolt of lightning. But to her amazement, he was not aiming at Ritz. Marche plunged his sword into the ground, sending a shockwave in all directions. For a moment it was still, and then there was a blinding flash of light as the scenery changed. When Ritz lowered her arm, which he had brought up to shield her eyes, and could see again, a gasp escaped her lips. She knew exactly where she was standing, and her stomach twisted.

She was standing on a high cliff, close to a bridge spanning over a river. Below, at the other side of the mountain river, at the foot of the cliff, stood Marche, smiling more wicked than ever.

"Sienna Gorge is lovely, isn't it?" He shouted from below.

Ritz's shot him the most hateful glare she could manage to bring up, but at the same time, her heart was struck with guilt. On that fateful day, with that fateful battle in Sienna Gorge, this entire adventure had started. How ironic it was, that Marche used this memory as the place for their final clash.

"You know." Ritz said softly. "Maybe I should thank you for recreating this place as our battleground."

"Oh?"

"It was here all of Marche's misery exploded, here you fully came into existence." A soft smile appeared on her face. "It is only fitting you will die here."

"No, no, whitey-locks." The Ultima Knight replied, shaking his head. "It is only fitting you die here."

Then he jumped up and soared through the air, approaching her at rapid speed. She fired a shot at him, but he slashed it out of the way. When he landed however, Ritz was already up in the air, firing at him again and again. Marche had no choice but to deflect the shots with his swords. But when Ritz came down on him with her sword first, he was ready. He had expected such a thing. With a full-force swing, he knocked her away into a hard stone cliff. He appeared right in front of her, a Climhazzard ready on his Ultima Weapon, but she ducked and the sword cleaved through stone. Ritz was quick to attack herself and managed to make a big slash in Marche's side. He snarled angrily, but besides that didn't really seem to notice the wound that much. He swung his blade again and his female opponent barely had the time to dodge.

Marche unleashed his Shock attack again, Ritz jumped into the air just in time as the ground she had just been standing on exploded. Marche was next to her right away though, and slammed her into the ground, sending another one of his Shocks immediately after her. This one hit her and the energy forcefully and painfully exploded all over her body, pain spreading through every inch of her body. She maintained consciousness however, regardless of just how powerful Shock really was. She saw Marche approaching her rapidly, but a well-aimed shot quickly took care of that. She got on her feet, a bit painfully, but she was ready to continue the fight.

She fired a number of shots in his direction, which Marche naturally deflected, but instead of charging at him, she jumped on higher ground, firing a number of shots again. Marche deflected them as he jumped towards her, but Ritz had hoped for that. She jumped towards him as well. And while Marche prepared himself for a clash of blades, Ritz was quick to fire at him again with her blade. Though Marche could shield himself, she managed to land a blow powerful enough to knock him back. Quickly she fired at him, damaging him even further, forcing him back at the ground. She followed quickly, ready to deal a powerful strike, but he managed to catch her with his blade, wildly knocking her back into a cliff again.

Ritz sank down in pain. Her hand grabbed the Lionheart tightly, but she couldn't really bring up the strength to stand anymore. She did her best, she really did, and she was determined to win, but she didn't see how she could. Marche had all kinds of abilities, so far only having used two of them. But even one of those two was more powerful than any of her shots. And she had yet to grasp any of the abilities her new job gave her. Under normal circumstances, Ritz would have taken all the time she needed to get used to a new style of fighting, but time wasn't really something they had with a Griever on the loose. Even fighting with a sword was difficult enough, though she didn't show it. She was used to light, fast rapiers, not to sharp, powerful, but also heavier swords. Biting her teeth, she tried to get up, but a Shock landed on her, crushing her if possible even deeper into the rocks, knocking out all ideas of getting up.

"It is time to end this. You were not even a challenge. Farewell, whitey-locks." With her blurry vision, she could faintly see Marche raising his blade, readying his deadliest move. A cry that made her heart stop scolded through the air. "Finishing Touch!" Marche flew towards her faster than ever, but for Ritz, time seemed to slow down so much it nearly stopped. This was it. Only one person had ever survived Finishing Touch, and it wasn't her. Last time she was hit with it, she had been completely crushed. And that was only from a light, soft touch. Marche seemed more determined than ever to hit her with all his might this time, strengthening the attack considerably, though more difficult to handle. She closed her eyes. Was it truly over now? It couldn't be, now could it? She snarled at herself. Would she allow herself to be beaten after going all the trouble? Her mind screamed in protest. But what could she do, another side of her asked. Marche was clearly the superior warrior. A gleam of determination appeared in her eyes. So what if he was superior to her? She had fought superior enemies before and won. She had face Omega WEAPON and won!

Her eyes shot open and Ritz raised her blade, holding it firmly with both hands. The Lionheart blocked the powered Ultima Weapon, stopping the Finishing Touch. The amount of strength it took from her was mind-blowing, but she persisted. If Mewt could do this, so could she. Against better knowing, she pushed against her weapon more forcefully. Her muscles screamed in protest, but she didn't care. With a furious cry, Ritz got on her feet, fully pushing back Marche. The amount of power stored in the Ultima Weapon began to escape violently. Marche's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected this, and now his overpowered attack got out of control. The energy stored in the Weapon didn't find anything to release itself on, and so it decided to turn itself against the sword's wielder. Marche screamed in pain as he was blown away by his very own attack. He soared through the air and landed in the river. The irony hit Ritz, who stood there, panting, her body burning. She had landed in the river as well when she was hit by the Finishing Touch. She let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, water was blown into the air as Marche stood viciously on his feet again, his eyes blazing mad, his Ultima Weapon shining. While looking horrible and incredibly damaged, the bloodlust and hate in his eyes was all the more horrible.

"No, this isn't over yet…!" With all his strength that remained, he launched himself at Ritz. Firing a Shock at her as he flew. Ritz, exhausted, managed to avoid his attack, but not Marche as he violently rammed into her. He knocked her against the cliff and gave her a few nasty slashes, before she finally managed to get him out of the way with a well-aimed shot. It was not enough to stop Marche though, and he immediately ran towards her again. A flash of insight came to Ritz. She grabbed her blade and pulled the trigger, only not releasing the energy. Instead, she ran towards Marche as well, the tip of her blade running over the ground as she ran. Before Marche could hit her, she slashed with her blade faster than the eye could see, then she jumped into the air. "Rough Divide!" She shouted, as blue energy erupted from under Marche, damaging him and blasting him into the air. Ritz landed on her feet and fired shot after shot at him, each of the hitting him.

But even that could not stop him. Marche stopped in mid-air, a wave of energy erupting from him. His blade glowed red. "Meteor Rain!" Then he swung his sword, and as he swung is, powerful Meteors erupted from his blade, heading straight towards Ritz. Ritz ran for her life and jumped of the edge of the cliff to dodge the attack. Marche appeared right next to her and slashed with his sword, but Ritz blocked it with her own sword. She then proceeded to pull the trigger of her gunblade, sending a shockwave through her blade that knocked him away from her. She fired at him some more, but he managed to deflect her shots and fire a Shock at her. The attacked missed her and both of them landed on the ground, glaring at each other. Each of them looked exhausted and damaged, but the flame of determination burned in each of their eyes.

"Enough of this…!" Marche suddenly cried. He charged his blade again and ran towards her. He seemed to hate her so much, or perhaps she had damaged his brain, but he had become quite reckless. Another flash of insight coursed through Ritz's mind.

"Fool." She muttered, as she knew what to do. She raised her blade into the air, pointing it towards the sky. Energy started to erupt all around her and the ground started to shake. Marche stopped and clenched his jaw. What was this? Not bothering to think about it, he fired a Shock at her, but it was deflected by an unseen force. All of the sudden, a gigantic energy beam erupted from Ritz's Lionheart. It soared through the sky, out of sight. A small grin appeared on her face. "Blasting Zone!" and with those words, and with all her might, she brought her blade down, the beam following as an extension of her sword. Her attack hit Marche fully, blasting him metres and metres away, even through some cliffs. A big pile of rubble ended up on top of him. Ritz took a deep breath, but didn't dare to relax, remembering the last time she had busted him up this badly. And indeed, the next moment the pile of rubble was blown away in all direction, as Marche appeared from under it with an inhuman cry.

"YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO KILL ME, WHITEY-LOCKS!!! I HATE YOU!!!" He thundered, his insane shout almost overwhelming her as it hit her ears.

A sickening black aura appeared around him, like a dark, consuming flame. He soared towards her again and Ritz couldn't help but gasp. He seemed unstoppable. But at the same time, she could feel his pain, feel his exhaustion. And it was only his burning hatred that kept his body together. She fired at him, but the darkness that surrounded him deflected her shots. She clenched her jaw as she jumped to higher ground, but that didn't seem to bother Marche. He just crashed himself into the cliff she was standing on, making it collapse. Ritz managed to get to safety just as the cliff exploded as Marche appeared from under it. Next he unleashed another Meteor Rain. Ritz danced between the meteors, trying to keep herself from getting hit, but exhaustion had weakened her reflexes just as much as it had his. Three of Marche's meteor slammed into her, knocking the air out of her lungs. She coughed violently, spitting out some blood. She tried to get up, but next she knew, she was slammed into the ground again by him. She was dazzled, but then an overwhelming amount of pain shot through her body as something pierced her side. Marche had impaled her on his Ultima Weapon and lifted her off the ground. Blood dripped onto the ground. Groaning, burning with pain, she managed to look up into his eyes. There he stood, that one part of Marche she would never have believed he could possibly have. But regardless, there it stood, having her impaled on his blade, his hatred burning as a black flame around him, consuming him. All this time, this force, this hatred, had been there, slowly pushing away Marche's real self. Slowly making him so violent. And what made it all the more disgusting, was that it had come into existence because of her. Her mind screamed with hatred.

"Dis… disgusting…" She groaned, coughing up some more blood.

"What did you say?" he snarled hatefully, his words being like venom.

"I SAID YOU ARE DISGUSTING!!!" Ritz shouted back. Tapping into the last amount of her strength, she pulled herself off the Ultima Weapon, landing weakly on her feet. Next she attacked him, but he blocked her slash. Not looking forward to another contest of pure psychical strength, she jumped away from him, how she did it she did not know. He did the same. They shot each other another glare.

"Let's finish it!" Ritz declared. Abandoning all thoughts, she grabbed her blade and ran. Marche did the same. Their blades glowed with power and neither of them was intending to block or dodge. They were pulling all stops, going in for an all-out assault.

"Finishing Touch!"

"Rough Divide!"

A brilliant flash of light and an enormous amount of energy erupted from their briefly clashing blades. Around them the cliffs crumbled. The light flew away and energy erupted out of the ground, knocking Marche into the air once more. Ritz had no idea how she was doing it, with such a wound of considerable size in her side, but regardless, she did it. Her entire body was now glowing with brilliant white power as she jumped at Marche.

"Lion Heart."

What followed next was the most powerful move she had ever performed. Again and again she slashed with her sword, with incredible speed, grace and power, knocking Marche in all direction, herself catching up with him almost immediately. Sixteen times she stroke, giving him injuries beyond imagination. A Final Strike. Her blade gathered power. Their gazes met for a brief second. Then she brought down her sword and Marche plummeted towards the ground. He hit the ground with such speed and force, an entire crater came into existence where he landed. Ritz, having nothing left anymore, fell on the ground at the edge of the crater. She took a few deep breaths, but that did little. She was so exhausted. Her body burned with pain. The Lionheart laid next to her, loosely in the grip of her right hand. Her eyes closed slowly. She was so tired. A soft sound not far away from her made her eyes snap open immediately again. She looked in the directions of the sound, and the moment she did, her eyes widened with disbelief, astonishment and fear.

"I… will… not… per… perish…!" Marche groaned, as he desperately tried to get on his legs, so he could attack her. The black flame around him was gone. He was broken, beaten, almost destroyed. Yet he lived and Ritz's heart sank. Was there no way to defeat him?! She tried to get on her legs as well. Her body burned and protested, but she forced it to obey. They both got on their legs at the same time, standing very weakly on them. They could fall as soon as the slightest amount of wind would blow against them. Marche could not carry his Ultima Weapon off the ground anymore. It rested weakly in his bloodied hand.

"I… hate… you…" he spat, taking a step in her direction. "I… will… destroy… anybody… who… will… try… to… get… rid… of… me…" Another step. Blood dripped on the ground. Ritz didn't know what to do. She just let him approach her, speechless. "I… will… take… over … Marche's… body… for… ever… I… will… kill… you!!!"

Unexpectedly, he let out an insane laughter, raising his Ultima Weapon, running towards her like he was not hurt at all. Ritz just stood there, unable to react. She closed her eyes and waited for the blade to kill her. But she never felt it. Instead, a furious, desperate, sorrowful roar echoed through the air, followed by a cry of pain from Marche. Ritz's eyes snapped open, and she gasped at what she saw.

Griever had appeared as if out of nowhere. His clawed hands firmly held Marche's hatred and his teeth were buried in Marche's neck. Marche's hate struggled in vain against the Legendary Beast's grip, letting out cries of pain as Griever held him. The Ultima Weapon laid uselessly on the ground. The Lion gave Ritz a meaningful look. He looked at her, then at her blade. And she understood. She nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, Griever." She could feel her strength returning, the things around her grow warmer and friendlier. She realized what was happening. There was only one thing left to do. Ritz jumped into the air and raised the Lionheart. The blade began to gather energy, not from the stars, the sun or the moon, but from Marche's soul itself. All worries, pain and sorrow began to flow off Ritz. She readied her attack, while Griever firmly held March's hate. When her blade had gathered enough power, she aimed and then threw it with all her might at Marche's hate.

"Finishing Move!"

Griever let go of Marche's hate just as the Lionheart pierced through his chest and unleashed all of its energy. Everything the embodiment of hatred so despised now attacked him and that was the final blow. No matter how he struggled, how he cursed and hated, slowly he disintegrated. Slowly he crumbled away into nothingness. A last inhuman cry could be heard, but then everything ended with a bright flash of light.

---

And that's it. The end of Marche's hatred. How it al lends, with Griever, Ritz and most of all the real Marche, the next (and last!) chapter will tell you. See you around until then!


	24. Chapter 24: Clan Griever

This is it, the final chapter. Enjoy!

**24. Clan Griever**

Ritz woke up, feeling incredibly relieved. She felt like an enormous weight, that she didn't even know had been there, had been pushed of her heart. Her eyes fluttered open slowly. At first her surroundings looked blurry, but after a small while she could see sharply again. Slowly, she sat up. Around her, the ground was a barren and scorched. She looked around. Apparently, she was still outside the city of Baguba, sitting at the exact same spot where she had stood when she had entered Griever's, and Marche's, soul. At her right, she found the Lionheart, its shape and form already familiar to her, to hold it had become natural to her as well. But her satisfied smile only widened when she found a blond, sleeping Ultima Knight at her left. Griever was gone and in its place laid Marche, his face looking relaxed, his eyes closed peacefully. One of the first things she noticed was that there was a necklace resting on his chest, with a ring attached to it. The ring carried a symbol that was clearly a lion. Ritz smiled. Griever wasn't gone forever. The Legendary Beast had simply understood that Marche was safe, that there were people to help Marche. That Marche no longer needed his protection, at least for now. And so the Lion had vanished, leaving Marche to himself again. Only the ring remained, and in that the Griever was sleeping. Should the need ever arise, it would return, Ritz knew that. But silently she hoped that it would never have to return. It wasn't evil in the slightest, but it was still better to let the Griever sleep, for the sake of Ivalice.

Ritz looked around, not saying a word, only listening to Marche's gentle breathing. There was nobody to be seen, except for herself and Marche. Where was everybody? How much time had passed? She glanced at the sky. It was becoming red, night was beginning to fall. The city of Baguba looked lifeless. No guards, no judges, no defences. Everything that had been there when she had entered Griever's soul was gone. Next to her, Marche groaned. She looked in his direction immediately.

"Marche?" She whispered softly. "Are you awake?"

His eyes slowly opened. Another groan escaped his lips. He sat up, slowly, his body stiff. Worried, she supported him.

"Are you sure you should sit up like that?" She asked. Marche looked at her. She could gaze into his crystal bleu pools again. Something she had not been able to do ever since she had been captured by the Necromancers. How she had missed it.

"R… Ritz?" The Ultima Knight looked around hesitatingly. "Is it… over?"

She smiled and nodded, happy to do so. "It is Marche. It is. That creature that was never a part of you is gone."

Marche fell silent. He grabbed the Griever necklace and bowed his head. "I should never have given in to the Giever's call… I…" Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. "I caused so much destruction. I wasn't awake, I wasn't aware and yet… Yet I know…" Her smile disappeared. She hadn't really thought of that. She knew Marche was not the one to be blamed, but how would the others, how would Ivalice think about that?

"It wasn't your fault, Marche. You could do nothing. It's all Lyle's fault." She offered him an encouraging smile. Marche bowed his head again and seemed to think.

"Ritz…?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

She looked at him in surprise, taken back. "Marche…" He looked better, happier. Yet she noticed he still blamed himself. She couldn't help but smile softly, lovingly. She had missed him. She had missed this friendly Marche. This Marche that was really Marche. She had missed loving him.

"I'm sorry…" Marche continued, not noticing her thoughts or her smile. "For everything and everything you had to go through because of me… I…"

He could never finish that sentence. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She had flown on him with such force Marche fell on his back. He was surprised at first, but quickly came to his senses and returned the kiss. Their kiss seemed to go on forever, but finally they parted, breathless. Ritz quickly backed of again, despite her feelings, she still blushed. Marche grinned at her red cheeks, feeling a lot better. Then his eyes narrowed. At first he thought it was the light of the sun that made it seem so, but when he looked closer, he realized it was real. She noticed his gaze.

"Marche… What are you looking at?" She asked worriedly. What was wrong?

"Ritz…" He said slowly. "Your… Your hair…"

"What about it?" She frowned. What was he talking about?

"It's… It's snow-white!"

"WHAT?!" She took a bit of her long hairs and held them in front of her eyes. She couldn't believe it at first, but it was true! Her hair had her real colour. The colour she had always hidden back in St. Ivalice. Snow-white. As Shara had told her, a beautiful colour. She understood that now.

"I… I guess it is…" She murmured. "But… how? How did it happen?"

Marche looked at her observantly. "Does it matter?"

For a moment she hesitated. Then she shook her head, smiling proudly. "No, it doesn't matter. What matters is that everything is okay now. You are back, your hate is gone and so is my escape. My hair is now like it should be, like you are now like you should be, and Mewt is how he should be." Sounding worried, she added: "Do you… Do you like it? My hair colour, I mean."

Marche sat up and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Ritz, it doesn't matter what colour your hair has. You'll always be beautiful in my eyes."

Then he embraced her and placed a kiss on her lips. She didn't resist. She was far too happy.

Rustling sounds made them break apart. Startled they looked into the direction of noise. There stood everyone: Doned, Shara, Elena, Mewt, Cid, Montblanc, Ezel, Ardaun, Seth and all the others.

"Man, told you we had to be silent!" Ardaun moaned. "Now we won't see the good part!" Seth whacked him on the head, making the Ninja rub his head in pain.

"Kupokupokupo!" Montblanc exclaimed, running over to them, almost jumping in Marche's arms. "You're back Marche, kupo! You're back!"

Marche let go of Ritz and put on arm around Montblanc, hugging his long-time friend.

"Yes… I'm back." H glanced at Mewt and nodded. Mewt gave him a smile. After some congratulations, Ritz got on her feet and helped Marche up. The Ultima Knight found his trusty Ultima Weapon and put it on his back. Unsure, he glanced at Cid.

"What will happen now, though?" He bowed his head. "After all… The blame falls on me."

"Do not worry." Cid assured him. "We've been able to avoid mass-destruction and you had no control over the Griever's actions. No blame falls on you." The Judgemaster smiled. "And don't worry about the reaction of others. Barely anybody knew the true identity of Griever."

Marche nodded, and sighed relieved. He glanced at Ritz and grinned softly. He took her hand and he lifted Montblanc on his shoulder. And so they walked away with the others. There were some stories that had to be told and some celebration that had to be done.

---

Night had fallen over Ivalice. But yet there was still plenty of activity in the palace of Bervenia. Mewt had decided that a private party to celebrate the passing of Marche's hate and the calming of Griever would be a worthy ending for this grand adventure. Marche and Ritz stood on a balcony outside, the cool air of the night felt soothing. They held each other's hand as they watched the stars together. Never before they had felt this close, this attached to each other. But they didn't mind. It was a good feeling. Ritz had told the story of what had happened after Marche turned into Griever, for the Ultima Knight knew nothing of that. His eyes had widened multiple times as Ritz had told her story. She certainly had done a lot, for him. And that made him admire her even more.

"It must have been tough." She glanced at him as he said that. "Fighting Omega, I mean. I know what it is like."

She smiled and nodded. "It sure was. But all of it was worth it." She rested her head on his shoulder. She lifted her gaze up to the sky again. "Everything is like it should be now."

"Indeed." Marche agreed. "We can go back to our normal lives. Well, if you can call the clan stuff normal."

"It's normal here, isn't it?" She asked, still smiling.

"It is." He answered. "Fighting monsters, gaining gill through missions. It's all normal here, in Ivalice. Our home."

It made Ritz feel warm when he said it like that. He had overcome his grief for never being able to go home as well. As did she. Her hair colour was not only a problem from St. Ivalice she had been running from. It had also been the last thing of St. Ivalice she possessed. But she had been able to leave that behind. St. Ivalice's problems had taught them all an important lesson. But now was the time to move on, to the future, and leave those problems behind.

"Our clan is going to be the best ever." Ritz noted. "With two members that posses legendary weapons and Job classes, nothing will be able to stop up!"

"Yeah…" Marche laughed as he realized something. "Our clan really is going to become the best clan ever, like Montblanc once said we could make it."

"I'm looking forward to all that again. Doing missions, having fun." Her gaze found his and she blushed slightly. "Being with you."

Marche smiled warmly and put an arm around her, pulling her close to him. "All is well now, Ritz, all is well."

The doors that led inside opened and the two turned around to see Mewt coming to them. He looked relieved and happy, but something was clearly on his mind.

"I'm not too sure about that, Marche." The Prince of Ivalice sighed. Marche and Ritz exchanged glances quickly.

"What do you mean, Mewt?" Ritz asked carefully.

"Nothing really bothersome, trust me. Just something to keep in mind." The boy explained. "They've began clearing the ruins of Lutia Pass. And well…" He bit his lip. "No bodies of our three lovely friends were found at the place they had to be found." Mewt gave them a meaningful look.

"If they come after us again, they'll be in for some nasty surprises." Marche snorted. "We'll be ready for them, should they be alive."

"Yes." Ritz agreed. "But let's forget them for now. What about you, Mewt? Any chance we'll see Gilgamesj again?"

"Now that Ivalice is at peace again, there's a chance you will." He grinned. "Without laws placed on me, even. Dad spoke about it and said that it was better to set me free entirely. Guess everybody learned something from this adventure."

"I'm glad for that. It'll prevent us from making the same mistakes twice." Marche agreed.

"Still. It'll be kind of weird to see a certain Genji Knight appear with his Excalibur II again when we know it's just our wimpy Mewt and try to keep that a secret." Ritz grinned.

"This wimpy Mewt can easily kick your butt." The Price of Ivalice retorted playfully.

"Stop bickering you two." Marche laughed. He looked at Ritz. "That reminds me, I still have an announcement to make regarding our clan."

"Oh?" The Gunblade Specialist gave him a questioning look.

"Let's head inside so I can tell the others." The Ultima Knight replied mysteriously.

---

"Everybody, if you don't mind, come over here for a second, I have an announcement to make." Marche announced as they arrived in the dancing hall of the palace. There were tables with food and rinks everywhere, way too much for the few people that were actually were there. But Mewt hadn't cared. He had found the occasion well worth it to overdo it.

Everybody gathered around Marche, curious about what he had to say. Marche scratched his head at first, never having been good at speeches.

"First of all… I'd like to thank everyone for their help and concern." Marche began, at which a number of murmurs rose from the group in front of him. "And I'm happy you all helped saving me in some way or another." He paused for a moment. "But I'm even happier to say that now that I'm back, our plan to become the best and strongest clan ever can be picked up again!"

Cheers rose from the members of clan Marche. After all the troubles, they would finally focus again on what was important: doing missions and having fun.

"As of next week, our clan will be back in action." Marche continued. "However, I have decided that that will no longer be as clan Marche." The Ultima Knight glanced at Judgemaster Cid briefly. "With the permission of Judgemaster Cid I have changed the name of our clan. It's nothing but a proper sign of respect that I named our clan after somebody that also protected me, with his life, on his own way." He straightened his back a bit. "And thus, henceforth we shall be known as Clan Griever!"

It was silent for a while, as everybody was a bit taken back by the new name of the clan. They glanced a bit uneasily at Marche, and his Griever ring, not sure what to think. But finally Montblanc jumped into the air enthusiastically.

"Well, I think that is a very fitting kupo name, kupo!"

And that broke the tension as one the members of the now clan Griever shouted and praised their new name and the return of their clan leader they so had missed. Marche turned to Ritz, grinning a bit uneasily, but the girl only smiled. Marche closed his eyes and bowed his head, beginning to smile as well. Ritz understood his reasons, and that was all he needed.

---

A few hours later, everybody had gone to bed, tired, exhausted but all too happy. Mewt had ordered some guest rooms to be prepared. The palace had become silent and the calm and peace of the night had now engulfed Ivalice.

Marche and Ritz shared a room and, although it didn't bother them, a bed too. They weren't sure if it was an intended 'joke' or something from Mewt, but they had decided to interrogate the Prince tomorrow. On the other hand, they had slept together before, a long time ago, in Lutia Pass during their Mortal Snow mission.

Now they were closer, though. More than ever before. Ritz's head rested peacefully on Marche's chest and the Ultima Knight ran with his hand through her silky white hair, which he found lovable.

"I missed and longed for this…" Ritz sighed dreamily. Marche's lips formed a content smile.

"I'm glad to have you with me, Ritz." He folded his arms around her. She lifted her head up to meet his gaze. His crystal blue pools shimmered thanks to the faint moonlight that illuminated their room and she found it beautiful. At the same time, her hair seemed to shine silver thanks to the moonlight as well, which he found beautiful. Then Marche remembered that there still was something he needed to do.

"Ritz, there's something I still have to tell you." He whispered. Curiosity crept in her eyes.

"What is it?"

Marche smiled mischievously, pulling her close as he placed a brief kiss on her lips.

"Ritz, I wanted to tell you… That I forgive you."

"W-What?" She was taken back, looking unsure at Marche.

"After all you've done for me, after all you've given me." Marche explained. "You really deserve to be forgiving. And I would ask you to forgive me for waiting so long to grant you this forgiveness."

The look on her face was priceless and Marche couldn't help but grin. But she recovered quickly and her surprise turned to pure joy. Her face beamed.

"Marche… I… Oh… Thank you…"

"You don't have to thank me." He replied. "You did it all yourself." He gave her a questioning look. "So… Do you forgive me as well?"

A sly grin appeared on Ritz's face. "Depends on what you're willing to do for it."

With a similar grin, Marche replied: "Everything."

They embraced each other and lost themselves in a deep kiss. Ritz enjoyed it more than ever, feeling a little light in her head. The happiness she felt, for everything was indescribable. She was happy because Marche was himself again, happy that his hate was forever gone, happy Griever had taken peace with sleep. She was happy that she could be with Marche, that she loved him and he loved her . She had walked the path that would earn her forgiveness and now she had reached the end of it. Now there was a new path. The path of the future. She no longer had to worry about past mistakes that had to be corrected. She could now look ahead to the future. A future in clan Griever at Marche's side.

The End

---

It took me a while, but now this fanfic is finally finished. It's also my first multy-chapter fanfic on this site that's finished. Heh. I hope everybody enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As you can see, there's room for a sequel. I actually have a plot for a sequel in mind, but I'm not sure if I'll start writing a sequel anytime soon. There are some other fanfics that need to be updated and finished first and after those some other fanfics that I really want to write. If a sequel never surfaces, I'm sorry, but I think the current ending wraps it all up just as well. Or maybe you guys don't need a sequel. I don't know. Tell me by dropping a review, perhaps.

Anyway, anybody that followed this story all the way to this final author's note, thanks for reading 'Path to Forgiving'!


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